The Trophies (Final Smash Edition)
by Bob Snicket
Summary: Witness the birth of the Super Smash Brothers as the diverse heroes of the Nintendo World unite to defeat Master Hand—and to discover the truth behind their own existence. Who is Master Hand? Why does he sponsor the never-ending cycle of Smash tournaments? An epic tale of journeys, tournaments, war, and shocking discoveries that will answer this and many other unresolved questions.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1: Familiar Days

Prologue

* * *

 _ **H**_ eroes and villains, bound together in an endless struggle for a princess, a kingdom, a power. Those were the days when the world's vastness was beyond comprehension, when the universe was infinite and the kingdoms separate. Those were the days when the simple linear conflict reigned supreme, when one or a few heroes had only to worry about one or a few villains. Those were the days when life was limited to the familiar things, and those things that seemed foreign at first were merely another form of that same familiarity. Those were the days when world conquest was restricted to one world.

But those days were no more.

As mysterious as continental drift and the idea of a primordial Pangaea once seemed to us, so did the concept of a divided universe appear to the inhabitants of the Nintendo World. For as long as any of them could remember, the kingdoms were a conglomerate mainland, each with their territorial boundaries, yet inextricably meshed with the others.

These amalgamated worlds required no more than a casual stroll to cross from one land into another, and consequently, they could not live in complete ignorance of their neighbors no matter how much they wished to. Commerce was fair and open between most boundaries, and interregional war within their world was unheard of at that time, though each kingdom had methods of preparing and training warriors to defend its soil. For though all lands were at peace, all were wary of the disquieting resident living in the far northwestern reaches of the mainland.

This being was known as Master Hand, and although he had only ever been known to venture beyond his homeland to sponsor friendly battle tournaments, those who had been in his presence (who were few) had been impressed with great fear of Master Hand's unknown motives and capabilities, and they had warned their peoples against ever relaxing their watchfulness of that ambiguous corner of the mainland.

What were most remarkable of all, however, were their memories. Heroes and villains alike could recall many adventures and quests and battles in which only their respective kingdoms were concerned, yet inexplicably, as if they had all awoken one day with a sudden awareness of the kingdoms around them, not one of them could name a single instance in which a hostile conflict had crossed between multiple kingdoms in any way.

Until now.

We shall speak no more of the natural mystery of the Nintendo World's origins. That is a tale for another time. Now, let us see how events will unfold.

* * *

Note: To view the map of the Nintendo World, search "Nintendo Map Revised" on Photobucket or Google and find it under the user Bob_Snicket.

* * *

Book 1

The Journey

* * *

Chapter 1: Familiar Days

* * *

 _ **T**_ _hump. Thump. Thump._

Mario dashed around Bowser's side as the Koopa King stomped toward him, nostrils steaming vehemently. From the beast's tough, scaly body to his pointed horns, claws, and shell spikes, Bowser was built to be a menace, although the one soul in the entire Mushroom Kingdom who was not intimidated by his impressive bulk and savage, fiery eyes happened to be the opponent he now faced. Nonetheless, he was not about to yield yet another victory to the Italian plumber without a fight.

As Mario attempted to outmaneuver his opponent, Bowser rotated his body at a remarkable speed, not allowing his quarry to escape his sight. Drawing a deep, monstrous breath, he caused the air rushing from his lungs to combust and flow from his gaping maw in a torrent of flames. Mario spun around on his feet inches from being engulfed by the inferno and opted for the other direction, sweating profusely as the wall of licking flames pursued him as if alive. Gradually, he gained the advantage over Bowser's inhibited gyrations and dove inward, grabbing onto his enemy's reptilian tail.

Bowser's fire-breathing was cut short by the undignified jerk on his hindquarters, and his furious roars echoed across the platform upon which they battled as Mario lifted him off the ground and exerted disproportionate strength to spin him about—slowly at first, then picking up speed until Mario's vision was but a blur of the blue and purple sky combined with Bowser's greens and yellows. Once the spinning motion had accelerated to its capacity, Mario carefully timed the rhythm of the colors flying past him and released the tail.

With a roar even mightier than those before, Bowser careened across the platform and slammed into a blue sphere with yellow spikes, which exploded upon contact.

Mario repositioned himself as the Koopa King fell. He brushed off debris from his red sleeves and blue overalls, pulled down his white gloves, smoothed his lush black mustache, and adjusted his trademark "M" cap. The stench of smoke and charred flesh assaulted his senses, as well as an overwhelming dizziness from having spun a several-hundred-pound beast around for twenty seconds. A jarring _crash_ sounded as Bowser met the platform face-first, shaking the entire structure. In fact, this disruption was sufficient to cause several segments of the platform to break off from it entirely, conveniently leaving behind the shape of a star.

With a throaty groan, Bowser clambered back onto his thick, muscular legs, facing his eternal rival, who had assumed a battle-ready stance. Narrowing his dark scarlet eyes, he muttered in a deep, resonant growl, never averting his gaze from that of Mario's.

"No…you won't beat me… _this time."_

Sparing no more breath for words, Bowser cast himself several yards into the air and plummeted back to the surface like an angry meteor. The collision sent several ripples of wind-driven energy in quick succession toward Mario, who was taken by surprise and found himself being recklessly tossed and battered by each wave, nearly knocking the wind out of him by the time he was left to collapse, panting, on the ground.

Bowser swiftly closed the distance between them and raised a claw, snorting triumphantly.

"Finally! See how you like it, hero!"

He brought his claw down toward Mario's throat with all the force he could muster, and…

…a metallic blur flashed before his vision, he felt a painful _thump_ on his forehead, and all went black as pitch.

Mario shook his head and blinked rapidly, removing the last vestiges of pain from Bowser's body slam. He looked up through hazy vision to see a figure standing over him, then instinctively pushed himself away and stood unsteadily. Bowser's unconscious form lay nearby, yet he knew Bowser had not been the one to deliver the final blow. He focused on the unknown figure until clarity returned to his sight.

It was a man composed entirely of metal. Even its eyes, with no pupils, seemed to stare blankly and emotionlessly into his own. But what disturbed Mario most of all was when he realized with a start that this figure was made in his own likeness: Every detail—the face, the clothing, everything—was an exact replica of himself. It was a copy; a doppelganger; a Metal Mario.

And despite the mystery surrounding this newcomer, Mario felt certain of one thing: It wasn't here to help him.

"Who are a-you?" he demanded, brandishing his fists in what he hoped to be an imposing gesture.

But Metal Mario was silent. It simply stared at him for a long, uncomfortable moment.

And then it attacked.

Mario leapt over his assailant just in time, and turning around in midair, he tossed several spinning fireballs in Metal Mario's direction. As he landed, however, Metal Mario came at him again, dodging fireballs as it jumped once, twice, and a third time, soaring high above Mario's head and rolling forward as it descended abnormally fast, as if the effects of gravity were doubled upon it.

With almost no time to think, Mario brought back his gloved fist and punched the metal boot falling upon him.

Metal Mario was knocked back a few feet by the punch, but its dense, solid mass aided by its falling momentum caused Mario to fare far worse from the recoil, tossing him across the star-shaped platform until he was left hanging off the edge of one of the points. His head pounded and ached sharply, and it took all his remaining energy to clamber back onto the platform, panting heavily on his hands and knees.

He lifted his head to find Metal Mario directly above him, once again staring blankly at him out of rigid, metallic eyes.

"Wh…why…?" Mario managed weakly.

Shortly after, he collapsed, his consciousness slipping away.

* * *

Princess Peach paced back and forth across her bedchamber, awaiting yet another rescue. _I hope Mario's all right,_ she thought, her small gloved hands clenched together beneath her delicate chin. _He's usually defeated Bowser by now…._

Peach's bedroom door was, of course, locked from the outside, and there were no windows that she might have floated down from to safety. Clearly, the architect who designed this part of the castle did not have a high regard for the future occupants of this room. But alas, this was the eternal pattern of things. At least Bowser was predictable enough that she could rest assured of her own personal safety, and being imprisoned in her own quarters was surely preferable to a dungeon or dark tower.

The princess sighed and sat on her royally adorned bed, hands in her lap. She had not bothered to change from her traditional pink dress with a glittering sapphire embedded in the front. Nor had she cared to remove her sapphire earrings or her bejeweled diadem from atop her flowing golden hair. It was only a matter of time, she figured.

In the midst of her reverie, there was a sudden crash, and the door tumbled inward, sending splinters flying and clouds of sawdust billowing outward.

Peach coughed and made out a silhouette standing in the doorway. Her heart leaped.

"Mario! You did it!" she exclaimed with gentle excitement. "But…why did you break the door down?"

The silhouette stepped forward, revealing Metal Mario, with an unconscious Mario being dragged behind it.

"Oh no!" Peach shrieked, her hand flying to her mouth.

Metal Mario took another step toward the retreating princess, silent as always, although its disposition seemed to send a clear message.

 _Your troubles are only beginning._

* * *

Far beyond the reaches of the Mushroom Kingdom, travelers from all around the Nintendo World were gathered to celebrate the annual Pokéfloat Festival in Saffron City, one of the most populous and industrious cities in the land (excluding Fourside, which was essentially the size of a mini-Coruscant). Dozens of enormous Pokémon-shaped balloons hovered over the towering cityscape, ranging from a modest Caterpie blimp to a colossal Entei airship. Their hulking masses eclipsed the mid-afternoon sunlight, casting titanic shadows over the crowds of people and Pokémon gathered in the streets and squares below.

Amidst the commotion, a boy made his way through the crowd, seeking a position from which he could watch the floats drift across the bright blue sky. Although on most occasions he wore his red-and-blue cap sideways, today he opted to leave the cap facing forward so as to shield his black button eyes from the sun. His blue-and-yellow striped T-shirt and jean shorts happened to suit the day's weather perfectly; it was hot enough that Ness felt rather sorry for the two midgets clad in parkas in front of him.

Wait a minute… _parkas…?_

"Hey!" Ness called out to the Ice Climbers in an attempt to win their attention. However, the uproar of the throngs of Nintendonians drowned out even his most earnest of shouts, so he resorted to tapping Popo's arctic blue parka on the shoulder, upon which both he and his longtime partner and sibling, Nana, turned to face him simultaneously as if he had tapped both of them (which seemed slightly creepy).

"Ness!" they exclaimed in unison, smiling candidly. "It's great to see you!"

"What brings you guys here?" Ness asked, shaking their…hammers. He got the feeling these two didn't leave their frosty retreat within the Icicle Mountains often. In fact, Ness had only recently become acquainted with the Ice Climbers through the latest fighting tournament sponsored by Master Hand. Yet seeing as he had failed to convince Paula, Jeff, or Poo to accompany him to the festival, any friendly face was a welcome relief to him.

The Ice Climbers simply pointed their wooden mallets at the spectacle above for explanation. Then Nana's eyes widened and she pointed at something in the sky with her other mitten-covered hand, which had been holding Popo's.

"Look at that one!"

Blowing their way through the cloudless air was a balloon representing an exceedingly colorful bird Pokémon. Its noble beak, golden head feathers, and piercing red-orange eyes seemed to cause the rest of the floats to pale in comparison.

"Pika, Pika-chu!"

Joining the group was a small yellow mouse Pokémon, its lighting bolt tail and red-spotted cheeks sparking with electricity despite the unmistakably calm weather. By "Pika, Pika-chu!" the Kanto-native creature was saying, "It is said that seeing Ho-oh brings good fortune. Whether or not that applies to an inflated replica, however, is uncertain."

"Pikachu, it's been too long!" Ness said. The PSI-potent boy was correct in identifying this particular Pikachu as _the_ Pikachu: the one who had been invited to the Smash Tournaments along with the others; the one whose owner, Red, trusted him so much as to allow him to travel wherever he pleased and rejoin his master at his own leisure.

"Pikaaaaa!" the Pokémon responded, conveying the general message that "indeed it has."

But then the scattered noise of the crowd morphed from laughter and excitement to shouts and screams and pointing fingers. Above them, several dark specks had apparently dived off the basket beneath the Caterpie blimp and were falling in a close cluster at an inordinate rate.

And they seemed to be aiming toward Ness, the Ice Climbers, and Pikachu.

"Watch out!" Popo and Nana cried out simultaneously, backing away from the cluster. Ness and Pikachu followed suit. The crowd scattered, descending into muddled chaos as if they were in the middle of an _Independence Day_ attack.

No sooner had they retreated than the "specks" were no longer specks, but were a mass of glittering figures dropping like so many shooting stars, and within seconds, there was a tremendous crash as they reached the surface, sending clouds of dust and debris in every direction.

Ness choked on the dust and rubbed his eyes to clear the irritating filth from them. He remained standing where he was, his legs cemented with shock as the airborne sediment fled the site of impact to reveal what stood in the newly formed crater at the center.

Meeting yourself is one of the strangest sensations imaginable, and Ness experienced this as he stood face to face with an exact replica of his own prepubescent form—except it was made entirely of metal.

In fact, Popo, Nana, and Pikachu underwent similar experiences as they, too, found themselves staring at polished metal versions of themselves, each turned toward its respective original.

No wonder they glittered in the sun.

After the initial shock had passed, Ness noticed at last that the Metal Ness had its head bent forward and fists clenched—as if it were concentrating….

"Get away!" Ness yelled to the others, yet at that moment gasping as two Freezies slid into his feet, freezing them in place.

Pikachu, on the other hand, had already charged at his steel imitator, attempting a sudden Skull Bash. The Metal Pikachu seemed to react effortlessly by catching him mid-charge and smacking his head mercilessly with a continual Tail Whip, which was considerably more painful coming from a solid metal tail. Pikachu tried to break free of the assault, but his increasing dizziness combined with the general pandemonium rendered him inept. Finally, Metal Pikachu summoned a mighty Thunder attack from the heavens while maintaining its rigid grip on its likeness. Pikachu cried out in agony for the duration of the strike, then rolled onto the ground, defeated.

The Ice Climbers, upon realizing what was about to happen, made to escape from the crater. They were nearly out of range when Popo heard a cry and turned to find that Nana had tripped over a curb, struggling to arise. Popo did not hesitate to double back and rush to his companion's aid.  
"We're not gonna make it…." Nana looked into the beloved face of her lifelong friend and then came to a decision. She quickly hooked her climbing rope onto Popo's carabiner, bent her knees, and then bounced upward, dragging her partner up with her when the belay line grew taut.

"No! Nana!"

Popo realized as he was being tugged away what she was doing, and as he was forced skyward past her, he tried to grab her hand. But Nana disconnected her end of the line and allowed herself to fall back down as he was launched far from the field of danger.

As he tumbled to the earth at least thirty feet distant, Popo saw a bright flash of green where the crater had been made. There was no announcement of "PK Flash!" But green explosion engulfed them, leaving the mountaineer sobbing and not knowing which way was up as his strength failed him, and soon thereafter, his consciousness.

When Popo awoke, the square was deserted, and all the other characters—both flesh and metal—had vanished.

* * *

A lone Arwing lowered out of the atmosphere and beheld the medieval structures of Castle Town below. Gliding through the bright Hylian sky, it left a steady trail of smoke as it made its descent toward Hyrule Castle. The pilot admired the simple beauty of the place: The bustling market square, the rolling fields that extended beyond its walls, and especially the pearly white splendor of Hyrule Castle, residence of the royal family.

The craft arced gracefully down to the castle entrance and landed before the massive front doors, which were intricately carved with Triforce symbols and other ancient runes. An armored guard with a pike approached the Arwing as the pilot opened the cockpit.

"Do you have an invitation, sir?" He leaned over the edge of the opening, chewing a piece of straw.

A blue wing shoved the guard away. "Hands off the Sky Claw," Falco Lombardi reprimanded. The bird leapt out of the cockpit and alighted smoothly in front of his accoster. His sleek blue head feathers were interrupted only by the red around his keen eyes and his smug yellow beak.

"It just so happens, tin head, that I _do_ have an invitation. A _VIP_ invitation, in fact." Falco flashed a tattered document in the guard's face. "Thanks for the welcome party." He proceeded to lock his Arwing and stroll past the guard as if he didn't exist.

The sentry considered giving this smart-beaked falcon a hard time, but noticing the bird's gun holster, he thought better of it and went back to his post, while the other guard positioned at the doors pulled one open with a grunt, allowing the guest inside.

Falco found himself in a vast T-shaped corridor, well lit by the natural light streaming through rows of windows on either side. The stone walls and ceiling were exceedingly white, and a blood-red carpet ran down the center toward the equally white doors at the far end. The halls were nearly empty save for a few guards patrolling the corridors and blocking doors, but he could hear even from where he was the dampened sounds of people laughing and chattering through the doors straight ahead. A notice board to his right read, "BANQUET GUESTS CONTINUE STRAIGHT AHEAD," so he proceeded accordingly.

Flashing his invitation to the guards at the doors, he passed through them into the wide chamber beyond.

The room was filled with a most colorful variety of guests gathered into small groups standing or sitting around circular tables covered with white tablecloths and ornate dishes, goblets, and silverware. Beautiful stained glass windows adorned the walls of the banquet hall depicting legends of the Triforce and the Hero of Time. Several enormous crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, their hundreds of yellow candle flames brilliantly illuminating the entire room. Food and drink of the most expensive-looking sort decorated platters and punch bowls, including Hylian delicacies such as Roast Kakariko Chicken and Fairy Spring Water.

The guests themselves were primarily human or Hylian (Falco barely noticed the elfish ears distinguishing between the two), but here and there could be spotted the boulder-like Gorons of Death Mountain, the squid-like Zoras of Lake Hylia, and many from foreign kingdoms that Falco failed to recognize. In fact, the only attendees he did recognize were standing in a cluster off to one side, and it was toward them he directed himself.

It did not take long for the familiar party to recognize Falco, and they immediately gave him a warm welcome.

"Falco Lombardi, I am delighted you could make it." Princess Zelda smiled graciously, as always resplendent in her royal lavender dress with the Triforce and Hylian crest imprinted down the front.

"Yeah, well, it's not like there's anything better to do," Falco admitted. He had been wandering alone for some time, away from Team Star Fox, but things in the Nintendo Universe had been rather slow recently. "Fox wanted to come, but of course he's visiting Krystal on Sauria. As usual."

A young man clad in a green tunic and hat, white leggings, leather boots, and featuring solid blue eyes and wavy, straw-colored hair scratched his head and sighed. "At least you're here. We sent invitations to all of our old tournament friends, but only the six of us here bothered showing up. Everyone seems so busy these days. But eh, what can you—ow!"

Link spun around to find what looked very much like—and indeed was—a younger version of himself. The only major difference in appearance—besides height—was Young Link's shorter sword and wooden Kokiri shield strapped across his back in comparison to the older Link's steel Hylian Shield and gleaming Master Sword. But the difference in maturity was all too apparent.

"You could start by treating me like an adult, Moblin-face!"

Link attempted to grab at his more annoying self, but the younger him was smaller and quicker, and he danced away making silly faces at him.

The Hero of Time stood his ground, fuming silently. Then Zelda put a consoling hand on his shoulder. "He's just a boy, Link. Let him have his fun."

Another swordsman joined the conversation. "I feel for you, my friend. It's a miracle I've been able to survive with Roy under my tutelage as long as I have." Marth, neighboring resident of Akaneia, sported a blue tunic and cape, not to mention blue hair. He and Link watched as Young Link ran up to the same red-haired youth Marth had just spoken of, appeared to tell Roy something, and then both boys burst out laughing.

Falco just rolled his eyes. "That's exactly why I prefer independence. Being free from the burden of companions who are always trying to slow you down with sentimental junk: There's nothing like it in all the world."

Zelda looked like she was about to respond when their conversation was literally shattered by a sudden crash from the far side of the room, followed by an uproar of screaming and panicking. The four Smash Tournament veterans looked to the source of the noise.

One of the chandeliers had plummeted from its hanging position and splintered into thousands of twinkling shards, cutting into guests' faces and clothing. Standing upon the candelabrum's remains were four metallic figures, and as soon as the room exploded into chaos, they dismounted it and swiftly approached the heroes, the remaining candlelight glimmering off of their entirely reflective features. Two wielded blades; one brandished a gun; the fourth seemed to be wearing a metal dress.

"What the…?" Falco spluttered.

He, Link, Zelda, and Marth were taken completely aback as they found themselves confronting their own metal counterparts. They readied themselves for battle.

Seconds later, however, a second crash came from the twin doors through which Falco had entered the banquet hall, a crash bringing emphasis to the fact that the doors had just been reduced to rubble by a fifth, monstrous metal entity.

Thick primate arms. Powerful simian fists. Its face unmistakably ape-like. Metal Donkey Kong.

The sizable steel Kong shook the entire room with each step, sweeping its lengthy arms across its path and knocking several people across the hall with each go.

Young Link and his friend Roy noticed the most recent newcomer and, in their excitement for action, took it upon themselves to defend the castle against Metal DK, rushing at it together while skirting around fleeing guests all the while.

Their target noticed the charge unfortunately early. It began pounding its unthinkably heavy palms onto the floor of the chamber, causing the ground to shudder and crack around them, upsetting tables, and sending both young swordsmen skyward when they drew near. The Metal DK proceeded to cast itself into the air and bring both of its fists hammering down upon both airborne attackers, rocketing them back into the earth with bone-shattering force. Neither of them rose.

Meanwhile, the other four found themselves temporarily transfixed by the entrance of the metal monkey, and the remaining intruders took advantage of this moment of distraction to leap upon their quarry. Marth and Link were thus thrust prematurely into vicious spars against their metal selves, while Falco barely parried Metal Falco's initial takedown and was forced into a lighting-paced battle of swipes and kicks. Zelda and Metal Zelda dueled with magic, neither energy appearing superior to the other.

It might have ended differently had Metal DK not intervened. It lumbered over to the combatants and brought its hands together without the slightest hesitation, KO'ing each flesh-bound character in turn. The other metal characters seemed to know when to back off to allow the emotionless ape to do its business.

The five party-crashers dragged the unconscious bodies of Link, Zelda, Marth, and Falco out through the gap in the wall, ignoring the frantic individuals fleeing before them. Any guards bold enough to bar their way were swept aside like plastic Army Men. Hyrule Castle was left half in shambles.

A higher power had struck again.

* * *

Ness opened his eyes, dazed.

He was lying down, staring up into blackness. The surface below him was cold and hard, and for several seconds, he could hardly see a thing. Then his eyes adjusted, and he sat up to behold his situation.

It was a cell—small, cramped, and filthy. The air was musty and repugnant, as if something had died inside. He was sitting on a stone slab that was apparently some horrible joke of a bed. On one end was a foreboding steel door with no handle or opening, only a food slot near the bottom. The only other feature of the room was a tiny barred window in the opposite corner.

Ness rubbed his eyes, trying to remember what had happened. And then it all came back: The Pokéfloats, the metal assailants, and the explosion…all was a cloudy memory that seemed like only a dream to him. Yet it couldn't have been, considering where he was now. But…where was he? Wondering this, he felt prompted to force himself to stand up and peer out the barred window.

What he found beyond was shocking.

Ness had expected to see some kind of barren wasteland or something else complementary to the cell's grim nature.

But instead, he was gazing out into a giant room.

There was a desk the height of a skyscraper with a humungous reading lamp and a gigantic bed to his left. In front of him loomed a towering white wall. To his right were a drive-in theatre-sized TV and what appeared to be Nintendo game consoles on shelves (Ness had quite a collection of his own back on Onett, though these systems appeared totally foreign to him). He looked down and saw that whatever structure he was in stood on a giant table, cluttered with plastic life-sized trees and houses. All of this seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite recall why.

Terrified and bewildered, the boy returned to the "bed," trembling. What was this place? Why had he been brought here? Where were the others? What was going to happen to them? There were so many questions.

"H-hello?" he stammered in what was intended to be a shout but came out as little more than a whisper. "Hello?" His voice grew stronger with his desperation. "Is…is anybody there?"

For a long moment, there was no response. Ness had nearly given up when he heard a faint groaning coming through the wall.

"Who's there?" Ness called, hoping it was not one of his captors.

The responding voice was surprisingly familiar. But it sounded weak, and Ness had to strain his ears to make out the muffled words.

"It's a-me…Mario. Is that a-you, Ness?"

Relief flowed through Ness's body. "Yeah, it's me! Do you know what's going on?"

Mario seemed to hesitate, deep in thought, then replied. "Not a-really. But I think I a-know where this is.

"We're in the Room of the Master Hand."


	2. Chapter 2: The Heroes—and Villains?

Chapter 2: The Heroes…and Villains?

* * *

" _ **M**_ ail call!"

Luigi drowsily rubbed the sleep from his eyes, rolled out of his bed (already clad in green and blue), and stumbled out the front door of the Mario household to retrieve the mail.

Parakarry, the Paratroopa postman, was hovering beside the mailbox, waving an envelope in his hand for emphasis.

Luigi accepted the letter with a yawn. "Thanks, Parakarry."

Mario's old partner nodded in response, blinking at him from behind his flight goggles. "This one's for you, Luigi. From the looks of it, I think you've got another Smash Tournament invitation. Strange that there isn't another one for Mario, though." He shrugged. "Oh well. Later." With that, Parakarry fluttered away in search of his next letter's addressee.

Luigi looked down at the envelope in his hands and frowned, mystified. There was no return address. He flipped it over to find it sealed with a sticker resembling a red circle divided by an off-centered cross. It shimmered at him enigmatically when he tilted the paper.

 _Certainly looks like the other tourney invitations,_ he thought. _But if anyone would be knocked off the list of fighters, it'd be me, not Mario…._

Pausing a moment to bask in the cheerful morning light and cool spring air, he then returned inside his and his brother's modest home to open the parcel.

A single sheet of paper was contained within the envelope. It seemed innocent in every way—that is, until he read the message printed upon it in dark, flowing ink.

 _Mr. Luigi,_

 _Times are changing. The world is no longer what it once was, and it can never go back. Once again, challenges lie before you. Everything you know is at stake._

 _I require your presence in my domain—without delay. Past the city of Fourside, beyond the Battlefields, you will meet your destiny. If you do not come, I shall massacre not only your Mushroom Kingdom, but the entire Nintendo World. Do not doubt that I can do this. Do not doubt that I WILL do this. Already my influence extends far beyond what you know. Already, your world is mine._

 _Should you need further incentive, you may be interested to know that your brother and your princess have already arrived—albeit unwillingly. They will not see you again until you arrive as well._

 _You have performed well in my tournaments, Luigi. I expect nothing less in the days to come. After all, this is no game._

 _You know who I am._

Luigi had to read the brief (yet shocking) message twice, and then a third time, before he fully registered the reality of the situation. Master Hand was astir once more, but this time his agenda appeared not quite so innocent. Mario and Peach had been taken. He had to follow them—more likely to end up placing himself in Master Hand's grasp than to actually rescue them—or else be responsible for the unthinkable consequences.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Luigi placed his head in his hands, hardly able to believe the task that lay before him. Although the Master Hand had never posed a direct threat to their safety before, Luigi and his fellow competitors had all, despite their many differences, found their sponsor and host immensely unsettling. There was no telling what sorts of thoughts and motives—let alone powers—he concealed like a glove hiding a hand. Whatever Master Hand was planning, Luigi felt impelled with a strong conviction to oppose it.

But then…who was he to stand in the way? He was alone, and Luigi had always felt that he was weak in physique and character in comparison to other heroes, especially his brother. What could a solitary, second-rate plumber do against a force that threatened to overtake the entire Nintendo World?

Luigi lifted his head, gazing through the kitchen window at the gently shifting boughs of an apple tree. _That's just it, isn't it?_ he thought. _I can't do this alone. I need help from others who have dealt with Master Hand before. I need to find another Smasher_ (for so the tournament participants were commonly called) _._

The only one who might still be around Peach's Castle, Luigi realized, was Bowser. But he soon decided that trying to convince Bowser to help rescue his arch-nemesis would be more trouble than it was worth. His first choice would be Yoshi, but last he'd heard the green dinosaur was away visiting Yoshi's Island. That left only one other Smasher in the Mushroom Kingdom. To him, then, Luigi would go.

After packing several days' food in a light sack and locking the house, Luigi departed from Toad Town, saying goodbye to Toads along the way. He entered the serenity of the Donut Plains, where Fire Flowers danced happily in the morning sunshine and bright grassy fields surrounded the dirt trail he followed. In a different time, there would be Goombas and other minions of Bowser constantly attempting to land a blow on him, but nowadays they primarily kept themselves to Bowser's Castle, and those who did stalk the wilds were well aware of the futility of attacking a Man with a Mustache.

Thus, Luigi had no trouble navigating toward the patch of tall grass where stood the particular Warp Pipe he intended to use. Few besides he and Mario knew where to find such pipes, let alone operate them. _But still_ , Luigi mused as he pushed aside the grass and jumped onto the pipe. _Pipe travel is incredibly fast and convenient. I don't see why other kingdoms don't adopt it themselves._ Without further ado, Luigi sank into the blackness of the green pipe.

Seconds later, Luigi rose out of another pipe in an entirely different location.

He found himself on a grassy plateau overlooking an impressive waterfall, whose rushing torrents vanished into mist below. Tropical trees speckled the surroundings, and what appeared to be patches of salmon-colored weeds dotted the ground.

But the most striking feature of Mushroom Kingdom II (also known as Subcon) was something difficult for us to visualize. For although this place was as real to Luigi as any other and carried its own set of smells (vegetative aromas) and sounds, it somewhat lacked _depth_. The trees and clouds appeared paper thin, and the surface was comparable to a typical _Paper Mario_ perspective. Luigi retained his appearance in all of its 3-D splendor, but everything else was third-dimensionally challenged.

Of course, this did not bother Luigi, who had been here before on numerous occasions. Sometimes he found it a bit odd how the trails leading here gradually lost resolution and thickness, but otherwise, to him, this was simply the way the world was.

He did not have to go far before he spotted the transparent frame of a house composed entirely of black lines sitting along one side of the waterfall. It was as if the construction workers had finished the structure of the building using bars of obsidian and then abandoned it. But Luigi, knowing better, strolled briskly to the outline of a front door and knocked on what looked to be empty air, but was in fact a solid wooden surface.

Moments later, the door opened, revealing its equally black and depthless resident: Mr. Game & Watch. He held the door open with what was allegedly his hand, although it was more of a stub with a thumb, rather like a lobster claw. His face was, of course, featureless, but it was evident that Luigi had his attention.

"Lu-i-gi! What a sur-prise. Come in." The silhouette character's voice resembled a Speak-and-Spell and enunciated each syllable more distinctly than most. He pushed the door wide open, revealing his home to be far less empty than it appeared from the outside. Sofas, stoves, tables, chairs, and even a television, all similarly composed of black outlines, filled the modest but respectable single-story house. Black bacon or sausages (Luigi could never tell which) sizzled on a black frying pan. Thinking of food, it was only then Luigi noticed Game & Watch currently donning his black chef hat. What was more, the walls were no longer transparent; they were completely whitewashed—a phenomenon convenient for the occupant but confusing for most visitors.

"It a-smells delicious, G.W.," Luigi said, taking a seat at the table. When he had first met the eccentric Smasher, he and the others had been at a loss for some time on what to nickname him. Mr. Game & Watch was a disgustingly long title, and no one appeared to know his first name, assuming he even had one. Thus, they had eventually settled on G.W. for lack of a better alternative.

"How do you like yours? Well done? Good." Game & Watch had always seemed oblivious to the fact that his sausages/bacon strips were consistently burnt to a crisp no matter what someone requested. But in a weird way, Luigi had actually begun to take to them—after the first several dozen or so.

Luigi waited while his friend dished up the sizzling black morsels onto black plates and joined him at the black tabletop.

"Is this a-bout the let-ter?" G.W. asked. He proceeded to pull an envelope off the table and raise it toward Luigi. It bore the same mysterious symbol.

"Yes." Luigi was taken aback. "You got a-one too?"

"It said if I did not go to Mas-ter Hand's room im-med-iate-ly, the en-tire Nin-ten-do World would be des-e-crat-ed. I take it you re-ceived a sim-i-lar mes-sage?"

"He has Mario and a-Peach," Luigi said urgently. "I have to a-go after them."

Mr. Game & Watch gulped down another strip of meat and wiped his two-dimensional mouth. "Well, count me in, Lu-i-gi. Life here has been ex-cel-lent since I moved here dur-ing the Me-lee Tour-na-ments, but I could use some more co-lor in my life, an-y-ways. Do you not a-gree?"

"Uh…yes." Luigi found the question a bit ironic seeing as he was sitting in a completely monochromatic house, but he was very much relieved G.W. had agreed to come. He didn't relish the thought of attempting another crossing of the Twilight Forest alone.

"Right, then. We will need—" G.W. was cut off by the unfortunate interruption of the entire house shaking. Something had collided into the building.

There was a brief silence. Luigi and Game & Watch looked at each other, not moving an inch.

Then it happened again, perhaps with even more force.

"It seems we have an un-want-ed vis-i-tor," Game & Watch said.

* * *

Popo crept up to the crater in the middle of the Saffron City square, still in disbelief at what had happened. Ness and Pikachu and…Nana…they were all gone. His best friend had sacrificed herself for him, and he had no idea where the metal characters had taken her. He might never see her again….

"NO!"

The Ice Climber pounded his mallet into the strewn rubble in frustration, bitter tears flowing freely down his face. He would not give up. There had to be someone who knew _something_ about what was going on. But who?

"Popo, is that you?"

Popo turned to find a tall teenage boy sporting jeans, a white t-shirt with red sleeves, and a matching cap walking toward him. Unkempt brown hair stuck out stubbornly from beneath his hat. His face was young but mature and full of concern.

Recognizing the newcomer as the Pokémon Trainer he had met briefly during the Melee tournament, Popo confided in him. "Red, they took Nana! And your Pikachu!"

"I noticed," Red said grimly, putting a hand on the mountaineer's shoulder. "I wanted to help, but I was too far back in the crowd. It happened so fast."

"Do you know what's going on? Who sent those…things?" Popo asked.

The lean adolescent nodded. "I'm pretty sure it's Master Hand. He sent me a letter addressed to two of my other Pokémon demanding they come to his Room. Also mentioned something about seizing control over the Nintendo World and how we're all helpless to stop him. Then he hinted that if Pichu and Jigglypuff still weren't willing, they soon would be."

Suddenly, two Pokéballs detached themselves from Red's belt and sprang open, releasing bursts of white light that formed into two familiar shapes.

"Puff!" the balloon Pokémon, Jigglypuff, said. Her large blue eyes and round pink figure somehow did not detract much from the small Pocket Monster's fierceness. Though the vast majority of Pokémon were incapable of human speech, they were still able to convey their messages to other creatures and certain experienced trainers. This utterance of "Puff," for instance, meant, "Well, I guess Master Hand was right, then!"

"Pi-Pichu!" Pichu agreed with equal indignance, his pink cheeks sparking and tiny yellow fists clenched with built-up energy. This translated roughly to "Pikachu is our friend! We simply must go after him!"

"Sounds like a plan," Red said, worried for Pikachu, his very first Pokémon, as well. "It's probably a trap, though…."

Popo tightened the grip on his hammer, staring down into the crater again. Images of Metal Ness PK Flashing the square and Nana launching him away from danger were stuck on his mind. "Doesn't matter. We can't just bide our time and hope Master Hand doesn't do something terrible. We've got to leave. Now."

Red nodded again. "I've got just the thing."

Twenty minutes later, Popo, Red, Pichu, and Jigglypuff were standing before a grounded hot air balloon, gazing up at the giant Squirtle body constituting the actual balloon with a basket underneath. It had been flown during the festival, so most of the mechanical aspects were already prepped for travel. Ropes were secured, the balloon was inflated, the burner was fueled up, and the sandbags were loaded. They stood in a field just outside the city where most of the other floats had landed as well following the scare in the city square.

"Where did you get this?" Popo asked, openmouthed. He was glad for the time this mode of transportation would save them, but he couldn't help thinking about how it would have cut his and Nana's trip to Saffron City into a small fraction. Some people had all the luck.

Red scratched the back of his head, appearing a bit sheepish. "Well…let's just say you don't get started as a Pokémon Trainer without a bit of family funds to back you up. My dad—he was one of the best trainers out there, and all that award money from the tournaments he won has sustained my mom and me pretty well, even after he left."

Popo was hesitant to ask, seeing that this might be a sensitive topic, but his curiosity came off conqueror. "What happened to him? Divorce?"

"Nope," Red said frankly. "He went off one day when I was five and never returned. No one knows what became of him."

"I'm sorry," the Ice Climber said.

Red just shook his head as if to brush off the subject, still facing the balloon. He rubbed his hands together, a grin coming over his face. "Alright, let's fire this thing up. I'm not supposed to take it out on my own, but you're with me, so technically I'm not, and this is an emergency."

"Chu!"

"Puff!"

Both Pokémon had made the same pronouncement: "To Master Hand's Room!"

* * *

A second Arwing descended through the clear Hylian skies, its aerodynamic frame cutting through the air like a knife, making a beeline for the castle below.

 _I hope I'm not too late for the banquet,_ thought pilot Fox McCloud from within the craft. _Krystal insisted on—what the heck happened down there?_

As he approached the ancient castle, Fox perceived that its condition could not exactly be described as pristine, and guests and guards alike were in a flurry of chaotic movement. Several walls harbored gaping holes in the stone, and rubble was scattered everywhere. There even seemed to be a few small fires that had only recently been extinguished judging by the plumes of smoke billowing from the towers.

Feeling particularly grateful for his windshield at the moment, Fox eased his Arwing to the ground a few dozen yards from the front doors and switched it off, causing the engine to simmer down and various lights, buttons, and switches to plunge the small interior into darkness.

Climbing out of the cockpit, he approached a guard running out of the castle.

"What happened here?" Fox asked. "Did a dragon just go on a rampage in there or something?"

The guard, panting, shook his head. "The castle was attacked. We don't know what exactly, but whoever they were, they took several of our guests, including the princess and the Hero of Time. You'd best stay away from here, sir; the situation is still unstable."

"Hm." Fox ignored the guard's advice and continued straight through the open doors into the castle.

Hylians and Gorons and Zoras and who-knew-what-else were scattering, most of them heading toward either the front exit or one of several new ones smashed into existence by Metal Donkey Kong. The magnificence of the castle's interior was somewhat tarnished by the broken windows, cracked floors, and a general state of disrepair.

Then, two familiar faces came staggering out of the banquet hall, having just recently regained consciousness. Fox recognized Young Link and Roy in the midst of the commotion and dashed down the hallway toward them, dodging past several Gerudos and a distraught-looking Toad along the way.

"Hey," he called, commanding their attention. "You two. Who did this?"

The two youths appeared rather less energetic than usual. In fact, their pale complexions hinted at exhaustion.

"There were these metal Things," Roy said. "They looked just like Marth and Zelda and his older self." He gestured at Young Link. "Oh, and your friend Falco, there was one like him, too."

"Don't forget the monkey," Young Link added somberly.

"Yeah. And they all just waltzed in and crashed our banquet and abducted their…uh…real selves. We tried to stop them, but the Metal Donkey Kong took us out."

"I knew I should have snuck around and attacked from behind," Young Link muttered regretfully.

Fox frowned, taking a moment to register such a strange report. "Falco was here? I'm surprised he bothered to show up for something like this…but that's it? That's all you know? There's got to be more."

In response, Young Link pulled out an envelope sealed with the same circular insignia from Luigi's letter.

"I found this in my hand when I woke up. Haven't had a chance to read it yet, seeing as everyone's freaking ou—hey! Watch it, you!" A particularly burly Goron had shoved his way past Young Link from behind, nearly toppling him to the ground.

"Let us get out of this mob of panicking people so we may talk without being trampled," Roy suggested. The three of them pushed their way back down the hallway and through the castle doors into the late afternoon sun. It was then that Fox noticed a fascinated crowd gathered around his Arwing.

"Hey! Get away from there!" The pilot fired his blaster into the sky to make an impression, which apparently worked; the crowd backed away from the spacecraft and went on its way, several individuals muttering and giving Fox dirty looks over their shoulders as they left. Roy and Young Link suppressed smirks with some difficulty.

"So let's hear it. What's in that envelope?" Fox turned back to the two swordsmen.

Young Link tore open the parcel and pulled out the single page contained within it. He unfolded the sheet and read aloud:

 _Young Link, Roy, Fox McCloud, and Samus Aran,_

"Hold it," Fox interrupted. "How did this person know I would be here to hear this?"

Roy added his own observation. "And Samus isn't even—"

At that moment, of course, yet another flying vessel ploughed through the pearly clouds above and made for the castle. It was sleek, yellow-orange, and almost disk-shaped, not to mention significantly larger than the two Arwings stationed below (including Falco's abandoned Sky Claw).

"For the love of…." The guard, who was now experiencing this for the third time, was baffled. Not only had Hyrule Castle just been humiliatingly attacked, but now he had apparently been appointed head of the extraterrestrial welcoming committee.

As the craft landed nearby, Fox shook his head slowly in disbelief, arms folded. He identified the UFO at once as Samus's Gunship, having seen her fly it once or twice during the course of the Melee tournaments. How was this possible?

The Gunship's hatch raised itself with a steaming noise to allow Samus Aran to step down onto the lawn, fully clad in her equally orange Power Suit, although the head section was red and the torso armor was yellow. Her sophisticated presentation was complete with her powerful stride and her arm cannon attached to the right arm of her suit, along with the luminous green visor hiding any emotion she might have been betraying. All in all, if the three Smashers had not already been familiar with her, they would have viewed this sudden entrance as quite alarming.

Fox, Roy, and Young Link watched as the guard feebly attempted to send her away, protesting that the castle needed no further commotion. However, Samus had already spotted the three of them, and she strode directly to them as if the guard were no more than a briefly amusing shrubbery. Her voice was transmitted to some sort of hidden speaker system on the exterior of her helmet, giving it a very radio-esque quality.

"Am I too late for the banquet?"

"Yep," Young Link said.

"Figures." Samus turned to view the holes blasted into the castle and the plume of smoke billowing from one of the spires. After a long, matter-of-fact moment, she faced them once more. "What did I miss?"

Roy went on to summarize what he and Young Link had just told Fox from the party crashing up until the letter they had begun to read.

"Hm," Samus said. "Go ahead and finish it, then."

Young Link continued:

 _As you are now aware, there is a new force astir in This World. That force, Smashers, is me, whom you know as Master Hand._

 _Our congenial tournaments are at an end; now your true challenge begins. I have taken some among your number to my domain in the far northwestern reaches of these lands. This I have done so that the rest of you may choose to complete the gathering of your own free will. For what purpose, you cannot know until the time comes. But come you must, for if you do not, I will destroy all that each of you holds most dear._

 _A new era has begun, and I tell you to succumb or perish. My invasion has already begun without your knowledge, and it shall continue until I have everything I want. Starting with you._

 _Until we meet,_

 _Master Hand_

There was another moment of silence as they pondered the threatening message's implications. Finally, Fox broke the silence.

"Master Hand…I've fought him before under friendlier circumstances, but he always gave me a strange feeling…."

"I agree," Samus said. "His intentions have always been unreadable. This appears to be our opportunity to find out about them."

"It does not make sense, though." Roy had a thoughtful expression. "Why would he tell us about his plan to invade our World? And why would he take but a few of us and leave the rest to go after them? Why not simply have us all meet at once for a tournament and capture us then?"

"I wasn't aware that he was capable of such eloquence," Fox added somewhat irrelevantly. "My impression was that he preferred maniacal laughter."

"I think," said Samus, "Master Hand sees all of this as a sort of game to him. He's playing with us. Manipulating our heroic inclinations."

Young Link's fists were clenched. "But we've got to go after them. He's taken people we care about. We don't know what he's capable of."

The bounty hunter shook her helmet. "Unfortunately, that's not entirely accurate. You may have someone of interest to rescue, but I do not. I avoid involving myself in matters outside my own star cluster. Besides, this might just as well be nothing more than Master Hand's clever way of starting another of his tournaments."

The two swordsmen were about to protest, but Fox cut in. "She's right, kid. Falco can take care of himself. He wouldn't want my help even if I offered it." With that, Fox and Samus began to head back toward their ships.

Roy tried to reason with them further. "But we could be saving the World!"

Fox turned to them as he reached his Arwing. "Welcome to the life of a hero, kid. We've all saved the world before. But all of us have our own worlds to save. It's never been any diff—"

"Fox, look out!" Young Link shouted.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the Arwing Fox had been about to climb into exploded. Young Link instinctively pulled the pilot away with his grappling hook, and he and Roy dropped to the ground, scrunching their eyes tightly shut against the blast. A wave of superheated air rippled through them, but upon reopening their eyes, they found themselves remarkably unharmed apart from a few cuts from flying pieces of glass and metal.

Samus had been staring at the air above the explosion, trying to make sense of it all, when out of the corner of her eye she spotted a blurry black object sailing through the sky, this time aiming for her Gunship.

"Oh, _shoot!_ " She dived out of the way of the incoming projectile. And just in time—for seconds later, a twin explosion engulfed her ride, tearing apart the metal and sending fragments spinning in a thousand directions.

As the smoke cleared, Young Link and Roy searched Hyrule Field and Castle Town with their eyes for any sign of the responsible party, but there was nothing. Then they noticed Samus and Fox conversing a short distance away. After a minute or so, both space travelers nodded and returned to the two boys. The bounty hunter's helmet appeared impassive, of course, but Fox's demeanor had become one of unmistakable outrage.

"That's it." Samus cocked her arm cannon ominously. "Master Hand's going down."

* * *

Zelda sat up on a rather hard surface, gradually regaining consciousness. Even before her eyes acclimated to the darkness, she could tell she was in a cell—having frequented such places often in the past. At first she believed she was underground in a dungeon, but upon beholding the sight beyond the barred window, her eyes widened.

Master Hand's Room.

Suddenly, Zelda heard faint voices coming through the opposite wall. She went over and pressed her ear to the cold stone.

"I should just break us all out with a few bombs."

"Um, unless you want everyone within half a mile closing in on us, I'd rather you didn't. Besides, we should wait to see what these people want first. They've kept us alive this long, and that means we're valuable. Having been in the Sargasso Hideout brig on multiple occasions, I know the power of negotiation."

A third voice. "There is no honor in lying and cheating our way out, Falco Lombardi. We must confront our fate with boldness."

"Yeah, well, nine out of the ten boldest people I've ever known are dead. What does any of this have to do with honor, anyway?"

"Are you sure neither of you have heard Zelda yet?" The first voice sounded concerned. And extremely familiar to her.

"Link," the Hylian princess said as loud as she dared, "I'm here."  
"Zelda! Thank goodness; are you alright?"

Her heart ached with worry for herself and her friends. "Yes…but what is to become of us? I do not believe this is Ganon's doing."

"It must be Master Hand," Marth said, having also recognized the giant room beyond the window. "Yet I cannot imagine why he is doing this to us. How did we come to be here so swiftly? We cannot have been rendered unconscious for more than a few hours, and Hyrule is on the opposite end of the World. Furthermore, what more are we to him than innocent tournament participants?"

"A lot, apparently," said Falco.

Zelda clasped her hands together. "Link, Marth, Falco, all of you: We must not act rashly, nor consent to be idle spectators in the events to come; our lives, and perhaps much, much more, may be at stake."

Falco snorted. "For all we know, they're planning to kill us anyway. Might as well—"

"Shhh!"

Zelda hushed them into silence. All listened tensely as the distant sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the walls of their prison.

Perhaps their decision was being made for them.

* * *

As it turned out, Bowser was not, in fact, anywhere near Princess Peach's Castle when Luigi opened that fateful letter. He had gone where many volatile-tempered individuals go when they need to cool down from a recent eruption: a bar.

Not in the Mushroom Kingdom. No, there was not a Toad barman in the entire kingdom who would offer Mario's arch-nemesis a drink. He supposed he couldn't blame them.

Following his… _swallow_ …defeat…at the hands of Mario (or whatever had interloped in their duel), the Koopa King had stormed back to his castle and gone on his usual rampage, charring the few minions who were foolish enough to remain within three or four throwing distances of him while in such a state. Then, he sped off in his Koopa Clown Car, putting as much space between him and anything that reeked of Mario as possible.

Thus, the doors of the Krystal Koconut crashed into the adjacent walls as Bowser stomped inside, his grumpy visage betraying his post-rampage depression. This rather dingy tavern, located in the depths of the Kongo Jungle, was nonetheless renowned for its "explosive" tropical drinks, infectious music, and, most importantly, its high-profile customers. The interior was as poorly lit as any such place so that you had to be almost directly in someone's face before you could identify them. The only light sources were glittering Crystal Coconuts hanging from the ceiling (hence the name) and lamps containing entrapped Banana Fairies, which occasionally escaped their glass prisons and flittered unnoticed out the door. The air was humid, congested, and smelled—for lack of a better word—fruity.

Finally, the music consisted of an endless loop of the "DK Rap," which blasted out of coconut-shaped speakers throughout the modest-sized bar so that you almost had to shout to be heard.

Bowser approached the counter, behind which Funky Kong, a large primate donning sunglasses and a red bandana, awaited his customers unabashedly, nodding his head to the music. Behind him was a colorful pile of assorted fruit.

" _So they're finally here, performing for you…"_

"Ah, Bowser," he said, leaning forward with his arm on the counter. "What'll it be?" Although Funky was indeed aligned with heroes such as Donkey Kong and crew, he had an all-are-welcome policy when it came to business.

Bowser growled. "Any new mixes?"

Funky shook his head. "We've got Walnut, Peanut, Pineapple Smell, Grape, Melon, Orange, and Coconut Shell. But the specialty is, as always, Banana."

"Then I'll just have the usual."

While the Kong went off to fix his drink, Bowser allowed his eyes to sweep over the crowded tables. They were busy today. For the most part, the Krystal Koconut was filled with drunken Kremlings and disgruntled strangers who had come to escape their lives' misfortunate reality, but often there were one or two clusters of more impressive passersby. Looking past two or three Kremling fistfights and the hulking mass of King Dedede sprawled comatose across a tabletop as if he were a walrus rather than a giant penguin, the Koopa King found today's table of interest.

" _He's finally back…to kick some tail…"_

"Here ya go." Funky handed Bowser his Banana Special (supplemented with six or seven hot peppers for flavor). Without further ado, the monstrous turtle pushed his way across the room, not bothering to apologize, until he reached the table at which two familiar faces were seated.

Captain Falcon's face was strained, his teeth clenched, his veins popping through his blue muscle-tight jumpsuit. He grunted as he struggled to overpower his darker-skinned opponent in this intense arm-wrestling match, sweating beneath his trademark red helmet that left his face exposed save for the eyes, which glinted like white daggers behind his black visor. It was apparent their struggle was a near exact match.

But Ganondorf, positioned across from the Captain, was breaking into a slow smile below his rather large nose. He fixed his menacing yellow eyes on his opponent's, furrowing his thick red eyebrows that matched the rest of his hair. Underneath the cape and armor and leather, the Gerudo was at least as shapely as Captain Falcon, and his gloved, olive-toned fist was surrounded by ripples of dark purple energy. There seemed to be a force within the man that was more than physical strength. Beyond the power of a man.

" _He's bigger! Faster! And stronger, too! He's the first member…of the DK crew!"_

At last, Ganondorf slammed the racer's wrist onto the other side of the table with a deep bellow of triumph. Captain Falcon held his wrist gingerly, shaking his head. It was quite some time, in fact, before either of them noticed Bowser looming between them.

"What do you want, Koopa?" Captain Falcon grimaced with pain. That Gerudo's steel grip was something else.

Normally, Bowser would have replied with some snide remark about the joys of watching someone besides him fail, but today he was not in the mood. "From you, Spandex?" he growled. "Nothing. Only a seat without some idiotic crocodile break-dancing on the table."

The break-dancing Kremling in question overheard the remark, became still, and shoved his way out of the bar with a sob.

Neither man made room for Bowser to join them, however. Ganondorf leaned forward, appraising the less-than-sociable newcomer. After a moment, he smirked.

"Foiled by the hero once again, it seems."

Bowser did not reply, preferring to simply lose himself in his drink as if he were alone. Captain Falcon sat rather uncomfortably on the other side and sipped his Coconut Shell Concoction, not exactly privy to the whole "villain-to-villain" conversation.

But Ganondorf went on despite his listener's feigned ignorance. "Ironic, is it not? We both call ourselves 'Kings,' yet the one thing we can never secure is a kingdom. Almost as if it were the eternal pattern of things: the weak, destined to rule, and the powerful, destined to be subdued by the weak. Believe you me: I despise This World for these inescapable truths as much as you do."

In a strange way, Bowser found the fellow tyrant's words faintly comforting, but at the same time, they only amplified his inner frustrations.

Suddenly, Bowser felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find a tall, skinny monkey with blond hair, dark eyelashes, lipstick, and a tray of drinks in one hand.

"We didn't order anything else," Captain Falcon said, standing with the intention of leaving. Although the F-Zero pilot found the general commotion and noise of the Krystal Koconut oddly therapeutic, he was harboring a growing sense of uneasiness.

Candy Kong giggled. "I'm here to deliver a message, silly. The gentleman over there—"She pointed at a table in the far corner where a solitary cloaked figure sat enshrouded in shadow. "—wants to speak with you three."

This was perhaps the most puzzling news any of them had heard all week.

" _She's quick and nimble when she needs to be…She can float through the air, and climb up trees…"_

Ganondorf glared at the figure. "And what makes this 'gentleman' think we wish to speak with _him?_ "

"He said his master has a proposition he thinks you'll find interesting. Or something like that." Candy walked away to cater to other tables.

"Whatever." Honestly not caring who he talked to at this point, Bowser stomped off toward the corner table. Captain Falcon hesitated, then shrugged his shoulders and followed suit. Only after eyeing up the cloaked figure for another long moment, however, did Ganondorf warily rise from his stool and do the same.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Bowser demanded of the stranger, squeezing roughly into a sitting position.

The hooded figure, whose face was completely hidden, did not say or do anything until all three Smashers were seated around him. Finally, he rested two white-gloved hands on the table and (presumably) lifted his eyes to them. He addressed them in a hoarse voice that fell somewhere between Batman and Sauron.

"Ah…greetings, Smashers. I trust you are wondering whether your time is being well spent conferencing with a stranger such as myself. But never mind who I am; it is you who my master is interested in. I believe his name is familiar to you: Master Hand?"

"He sent you all the way here just to invite us to another tournament?" Captain Falcon asked doubtfully.

" _He's back again, and about time too….And this time, he's in the mood!"_

"Heh…of course not. My master has far greater plans than any of you could possibly imagine. No, there is no tournament this time. But he does desire your presence. There is to be a…gathering…in the Room, and he is most hopeful that you will consent to join him."

Ganondorf's fists were clenched, the Triforce of Power glowing on the back of his left hand. He spoke slowly and deliberately. "What _possible_ interest could I have in attending some glorified tea party in Master Hand's Room?"

"My master offers you vengeance," the cloaked figure replied. "For you see, your arch-nemesis, the Hero of Time, will also be at this gathering." He turned to Bowser. "As will yours. In addition, Master Hand guarantees great power and glory to those who…triumph…there."

"Hold the phone," Captain Falcon said. He did not like his current company one bit. "Why are you lumping me with these two…villains? Are you making me out to be evil or something? Whatever's going on here, I want no part of it."

"Hm…" the stranger said, swiveling to face the bounty hunter. "I think you might. This gathering…when this takes place, the Nintendo World will never be the same again. This will be the stage of action where a great drama shall unfold, which all of you are involved in whether you accept your role in it or not. And if my master knows you at all, Captain Falcon, which he does…he knows all of you, more than you think…then despite how much you distrust him…despite how much you distrust me or Ganondorf or Bowser…you will want to be there to see what will happen…to make a difference for the better, if you can…you will want to have a hand in the fate of This World. Because if you do not play your own hand, Captain…" The figure gestured outward with one of his hands. "…someone else will play it for you."

Captain Falcon stared distrustfully at the hooded figure, at Bowser's unfathomable expression, and at Ganondorf's look of amusement. As much as he hated to admit it, the stranger was right. If something important was happening that could affect them all, that could affect everything and everyone he knew, then he felt duty-bound to do what he could to help.

" _But Kremlings beware, 'cause he's after you!"_

"So that's it?" Bowser asked. "We just saunter off to Master Hand's Room and wait to see what happens next?"  
The hooded figure steepled his hands on the table. "Not quite. There is a condition. In order for you to receive the power and glory my master promises, you must bring…another. By the name of Donkey Kong. You know him from previous gatherings, I believe. He resides in a tree house within this very region, an area locally known as Jungle Japes."

"And how can we trust your master to follow through with his side of the bargain?" Ganondorf knew a shifty proposal when he heard one.

"Heh…you can't. But aren't you curious to find out all the same?"

Without warning, the cloaked figure suddenly leapt over the table and scampered out of the Krystal Koconut without another word.

The three Smashers sat silently for a while, contemplating all that had been discussed.

Bowser broke the silence. "Well, I've got nothing better to do. If there's even a small chance that I can get my claws around Mario's neck, then I'm taking it. If either of you musclemen care to join me, feel free."

"The stranger poses an intriguing case," Ganondorf said, pushing back his chair and standing. "I will go also, Koopa. This Master Hand character has always been one I had hoped to…acquaint myself with…."

Captain Falcon frowned. He could not refuse an opportunity to prevent a potentially disastrous fate from falling upon his world. Even if it meant travelling alongside these two scumbags. "Fine. Let's get on with it, then."

" _DK! Donkey Kong! DK! Donkey Kong is here!_

 _Come on, Cranky! Take it to the fridge!"_


	3. Chapter 3: The Escape

Chapter 3: The Escape

* * *

 _ **L**_ ink perked up, listening to the footsteps briskly approaching their cells—although whose cell in particular, none could predict. He soon realized that it was not just one pair of feet, but several, that were sounding through the stone wall.

Finally, the footsteps came to a halt, and he heard a click and a metallic creak as a cell door was opened—but not his. Though he soon found out.

"Pika Pikaaa!"

Following Pikachu's identifying exclamation of "get away from me!" there were sounds of a struggle, and then a much louder exclamation.

"Pikaaaaa…CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Through the tiny cracks in the door's hinges, Link saw a sustained flash of flickering blue and white light, and a number of heavy masses thumped onto the ground. Next thing he knew, another click and metal creak sounded directly in front of him, and his own door opened a few inches. Realizing this was his chance to escape, he sprang to his feet and wrenched it wide open.

The Mouse Pokémon was crouched in front of him with a set of keys in his tiny hands, gesturing urgently with his head. "Chu Pika Chu!" Of course, there was no way Link could have understood that this translated to "Help me free the others! More will be coming!" But from Pikachu's frantic body language and the rusty iron keys that were tossed up to him, he was able to deduce the general idea.

The Hero of Time drew the glowing Master Sword and stepped into a narrow, red-carpeted hallway. It was lined with several more cells on both sides and lit by torches whose brackets were disturbingly shaped like white hands gripping them through the damp stone wall. The air was congested and smelled of ancient tombs and other equally pleasant aromas. Glancing to the left, Link found that the corridor ended with a beautiful stained-glass window depicting an array of purple objects he could not distinguish from this distance. And to the right, the results of Pikachu's formidable Thunder attack were scattered across the floor.

They were bizarre humanoid beings, some shaped like men and others like women, composed entirely of luminescent white wires (hence the name Wire Frames). Within the wires were basic stick figure-esque skeleton structures, a red heart-like object at the center, and what appeared to be a purple gelatinous substance that was strong enough on the outside to hold its shape, but within functioned as a quaint jelly ectoplasm of some sort. Yet what came across as most dehumanizing about them were their faces—or rather, their lack thereof. In place of all facial features was the same circle with the off-centered cross from the letters, emblazoned in a bright scarlet. Link had never seen anything like it, so he was glad that at the moment they appeared to be unconscious.

But Pikachu was right; more footsteps were coming. Many more. He proceeded to follow Pikachu's lead and began unlocking cells, calling out to their inmates.

"Hey! We're free! Hurry, there's not much time!"

"Pika! Pi Pika Chu!"

Soon, the other prisoners were leaving their cells, most with astonished expressions as well as pale complexions from their imprisonment. Link was relieved to find Princess Zelda two doors down, in addition to Falco and Marth nearby, but he was shocked to discover that there were even more familiar faces being held here: Mario, Princess Peach, Ness, and one of the Ice Climbers (he often failed to see the difference between them). All of them exchanged looks of bewildered recognition.

But before they could decide on their next move, the footsteps' owners arrived around the T-shaped corners leading off the right end of the hall.

Scores of additional Wire Frames poured into the narrow hallway, now full-on sprinting toward the escapees. It was like a torrent of amethyst flames surging through the passage, ready to engulf anything in its path. Link realized there was only one way out.

"The window!" he shouted to the others, suddenly making a break for the stained-glass window at the opposite end. "There are too many for us to fight. It's the only way!"

The rest followed suit, for there was no time to argue. The distance between them and the onslaught of Wire Frames was now only a matter of seconds, and despite their best efforts, the gap between them was closing at an alarming rate.

Peach reached the window first, and with a single swing, shattered it in its entirety with her golf club. The others crowded behind her, looking out into Master Hand's Room and a sheer three- or four-story drop. But their brief sense of entrapment was cut short when Nana pushed her way to the front, quickly tied one end of her climbing rope to the empty window frame, and tossed the rest of the loop off the edge. It unraveled until reaching its full length about three feet from the giant tabletop.

"Climb!" she said simply, leading the way down.

But the Wire Frames were nearly upon them.

"Pi Pika Pi!" Pikachu said, which meant, "I'll hold them off while the rest of you escape!" Cheeks sparking, the Mouse Pokémon turned back to the purple masses and charged into it, head-butting the first several rows of Wire Frames to the ground and calling up numerous bolts of lightning.

Mario glanced at Peach as she awaited her turn to begin the descent down the face of the fortress. She was his princess; his life; his everything. His number one priority was to ensure her safety. Even if that meant compromising his own. He looked away and saw Link looking the same way at Princess Zelda. He was thinking similarly. Suddenly their eyes met, and they nodded to each other.

"We're a-staying behind, too."

Before either of their royal charges could object, the two heroes joined Pikachu in the fray against the swarming Wire Frames pressing toward them, adding fireballs and sword-swinging to the mix.

By now, Nana was almost halfway down, and Zelda had begun her careful descent. Ness glanced anxiously at the brawl not far behind them, watching in awe as three of the Nintendo World's most iconic Smashers took on an endless stream of flashing purple limbs, as if they were damming up a ferocious flood.

But as Peach was about to lower herself onto the outer wall, a dark, brawny shape pushed and trampled its way past the Wire Frames to the forefront, the dim yellow light of the torches reflecting off of its metallic horns and shell spikes.

Metal Bowser.

Without warning, it shoved Mario and Pikachu into the walls, crushing the wind out of them. Link, taken aback, attempted an instinctive jab at its neck, but of course the blade hardly dented the creature's solid steel body, which towered at almost twice his height. In response, Metal Bowser pulled back its fist and launched Link backwards with such force that Falco was unable to react before the young man's body sent both of them toppling through the broken window in a freefall.

Zelda, noticing them, leapt from the rope on the wall, grabbed both Falco and Link, and spun around rapidly, creating the emerald green aura of Farore's wind, which enveloped the three of them and spirited them to the safety of the surface. Nana slid down the remainder of the rope and landed lightly on the tabletop as well, peering back up to wait for the others.

Meanwhile, innumerable Wire Frames squeezed past Metal Bowser's hulking figure and quickly subdued Peach, Ness, and Marth. Ness tried to land a kick and Marth made a swipe with his sword, sending a Wire Frame off the edge to its demise, but through sheer numbers, they were outmatched.

Then another even larger figure pressed its way through the crowd, floating swiftly past the heroes and out the window. Though Peach's arms had been wrenched painfully behind her and her head forced forward, she saw that this hovering newcomer was nothing less than an enormous white hand the size of a van. A left hand, moving about of its own accord. And judging by its movements, it was heading after those who had escaped.

Zelda, Nana, Link, and Falco beheld with horror as what was unmistakably Crazy Hand, the one who had co-hosted the Smash Tournaments with Master Hand, sped downward in a tight fist with them directly below it, like a piano dropped from a skyscraper.

No sooner had the Hand begun to do this, however, than a deep, booming voice resounded from inside the depths of the fortress.

"LET THEM LEAVE."

Crazy Hand halted in midair about twenty feet above their heads in an apparent response to the command. Seeming reluctant, it floated back up to the broken window in the side of the fortress and vanished inside.

The heroes below stared at the hole in the wall for a moment in disbelief, amazed they had been spared. Finally, Falco snapped back into action.

"We need to blow this dump. Now."

They looked out at the overwhelmingly spacious Room, stretching for at least one or two miles in front and below them. The one crucial feature this Room seemed to be missing, however, was a door. There was no obvious exit route to speak of until Falco spotted something near one of the far corners with his keen falcon eyesight.

"There. Looks like a mouse hole. Let's go."

But Nana looked uncomfortable with the prospect. "What about the rest?" She gestured back toward the stone tower behind them. "Can't we save them, too?"

Zelda shook her head, although not without remorse. "No. There are too many enemies waiting for us in there. The best hope we have of helping Mario and the others is to return to our own kingdoms and seek out assistance from them. We must leave before our captors change their mind." Link and Falco nodded their assent.

With that, she held out her left hand for the others to touch, upon which the Triforce of Wisdom glowed brightly. Once all four were joined, the emerald winds of Farore's magic swept around them once more and whisked them away.

* * *

The residence of Mr. Game & Watch was now trembling violently without ceasing. Luigi's face was one of startled fright, but the homeowner appeared no more than mildly annoyed.

"Not a-gain," G.W. sighed, heading out the front door. "She has been act-ing up un-u-sual-ly of-ten as of late." Luigi followed his friend tentatively to find the source of the aggression.

Standing on the opposite side of the waterfall was a pink, Yoshi-like creature with a gaping "O" for a mouth and a distinctly feminine red bow. Her resolution was as ill-defined as their surroundings, and for no apparent reason, the Birdo was spitting eggs from her mouth as large as Luigi's head, which caused Game & Watch's framework house to shake with each collision rather than shattering the eggs themselves.

"Bir-do, that is e-nough!" G.W. enunciated over the roar of the falls. "Go home!"

Either incapable or unwilling to speak, the Birdo completely ignored the two-dimensional character's request, seemingly intent on barraging his house perpetually, or perhaps until it collapsed.

"Nice neighbors you've a-got, G.W.," Luigi remarked. He gripped his right hand in a fist, green flames swirling around it. "Want me to take a-care of this?"

The black silhouette shook his head jerkily. "It is al-right. Her kind does not know any bet-ter. Once in a while one of them wan-ders over here and—"

But G.W.'s sentence was cut short by an egg that rammed into him with a _plonk_ and knocked him off his feet. Luigi ran to help him up.

"Are you al—"

A second egg hit the unfortunate plumber full in the face, sending him onto his bottom as well. Standing up warily, both of them looked up to find an altogether more-than-trivial problem on their hands.

At least a dozen additional Birdos had joined the first, most of them focusing on spitting eggs at the black outline of G.W.'s house, but several of the Subcon creatures now venturing to discover what would happen when the two Strangers were pelted instead.

"This is a prob-lem," G.W. said as he and Luigi were kept occupied dodging a virtual flock of airborne eggs. For minutes on end they could do nothing but prevent themselves from being buried by an onslaught of pearly-pink projectiles. And Game & Watch's house was now beginning to emit dangerous cracking sounds. It would not survive much more of this.

All of a sudden, a round pink figure cast itself from the top of the house and, opening its mouth wide, became a living vacuum, consuming all of the eggs before they could cause any more damage. The Birdos, confused, ceased fire. With a loud, effortless gulp, Kirby, the hero of Dreamland, swallowed the equivalent of 15 large omelets and transformed amidst a small cascade of yellow stars.

The puffball's newly acquired Copy Ability featured a beak reminiscent of Falco Kirby with the addition of two feathery white wings where his stubby pink arms once were. Luigi and Mr. Game & Watch watched in awe as Chicken Kirby opened his beak and ejected a stream of equally potent eggs back at their antagonists.

The Birdos fell into a frenzy as their own weapon was used against them, taking them down one by one until the few left standing fled to safety. The new Stranger obviously meant business.

Luigi was about to rejoice when yet another Birdo came forward with a slight difference about this one: It was as tall as Game & Watch's house.

But Chicken Kirby, unfazed, flew up to face it, almost egging it on.

The Giant Birdo let out a deep, monstrous grunt and spewed from its cavernous mouth opening an egg that was, likewise, monstrous. It flashed slowly between a brilliant glow and an ordinary paleness, coming at Kirby like a misguided comet.

With a swish of one of his white wings, Kirby caused the egg to do an about-face much like Mario's cape, and now it was coming back at Giant Birdo, flashing slightly faster.

But when it reached its sender, the Giant Birdo performed a similar move, spinning around and hitting the egg with its tail.

In this manner Luigi and G.W. witnessed Chicken Kirby and the Giant Birdo volley the egg between each other, its speed increasing with each hit. Their heads moved back and forth as they followed the egg's progress until it was little more than a white blur between the dueling figures.

At last, Kirby swung at the bullet-like egg triumphantly, sending it into the Giant Birdo's stomach. The creature toppled backward and roared, a dizzy, defeated look crossing its eyes.

Kirby hovered down to them and discarded his power in the form of a bouncing yellow star, his expression innocent and cheerful.

"Hi!"

Baffled by their fellow Smasher's recent performance, Luigi and G.W. were at a brief loss for words.

"Thank you, Kir-by," Game & Watch said finally. "I owe you a house." He shook hand-stubs with the puffball.

"What brings you a-here?" Luigi asked, still full of pleasant surprise.

In reply, Kirby drew out an envelope identical to Luigi's. "Master Hand," he said succinctly.

Luigi looked hopeful. "We're a-trying to stop Master Hand, too. Do you want to a-join us?"

Kirby nodded brightly. "Save the World!"

"Just give me a few min-utes to pack some sup-plies," G.W. said. "Then we can be-gin our jour-ney."

* * *

Donkey Kong huffed and puffed as he finished his morning pushup routine, his bulging arm muscles burning, his hairy arms glistening with sweat. Within his small cabin, a small radio broadcasted some relaxing island music, and his hammock rippled in the gentle morning breeze blowing through the window. The air was fresh and smelled of primates and bananas.

"Junior, get your sorry monkey butt out of that hut. Family's here!" Cranky Kong's wizened old voice came blaring through the cabin's open entrance.

DK paused mid-pushup (one-handed), rolled his eyes, and clambered to his hands and feet, breathing heavily. He shut off the radio, pondering the vision he had had the night before….

 _He had just polished off his last banana for the evening and retired to his hammock, reaching down and giving it a push. As he swung, he allowed the natural white noise of twittering night birds and chirping crickets to cloud his mind over, carrying him away into his fantasy world with a jungle made entirely of Golden Bananas, ruled by him and Candy…._

 _An oddly melodic wind whispered in his ear. In fact, now that he noticed, it almost seemed to be forming words…._

Junior…Junior, awaken… _It spoke in a familiar hushed voice._

 _DK turned over in his hammock and opened his eyes drowsily._

 _"Gramma Wrinkly…is that you?" he mumbled._

Yes, dear…it's me. _Indeed, as his eyes focused, the ape beheld the ghostly figure of his deceased grandmother hovering before him like a fragile cluster of fog in the air, her pale, motherly features shimmering in and out of existence._

A storm is coming, Junior, _she whispered gravely, although he was not entirely sure whether she was actually speaking or if it was all in his mind._ A storm you cannot avoid. Forces are gathering that would extend a tyrannical hand over all of the Nintendo World, that would destroy everything the Kong family has worked so many generations to build. You must protect it.

 _"Storm?…Destroy?…Family?" DK was barely following her words. "How…what must I do?"_

 _Wrinkly Kong turned and gestured with a frail, translucent arm toward the jungle below._ Tomorrow, you will be visited by a group of familiar faces who will want you to travel with them. They will not be individuals you would normally trust, but you must go. They will take you on a journey to meet your destiny. _She gave him a grim smile._ Good luck, my dear…be safe….

 _With another tuneful gust of wind, the ghost of Wrinkly was swept away, leaving Donkey Kong alone in the dark._

 _"Wha…group…? Travel…?Destiny? Why?_ _Granny…Granny…Grann…anas…bananas…baaanaaanaaaasss…."_ _DK drifted off to sleep._

"Family gatherin', you lazy ape! NOW!"

DK shook himself out of his reverie, yawned, and followed the sound of Cranky's agitated voice to the outer structures of the Kong tree house complex.

It was a beautiful day—at least, looking out northwest. To the far east, he saw a thick outcropping of dark gray clouds menacingly making their way from the south across the Icicle Mountains. The joined cabins around him were supported by strong tropical branches and an extensive boardwalk connecting them all, everything consisting of wood and thatch. The huts were relatively spread out in a broad cluster that formed no particular pattern except the fact that Cranky Kong's cabin stood in the center. With the roofs of the structures extending several yards above the canopy, they had a fairly decent view of the whole of Kongo Jungle, the leafy treetops surrounding them like a sea of green vegetation. Ever since their emigration from DK Island, the Kong family had found their relocated home quite suitable.

Padding along to the familiar sounds of jungle creatures going about their daily business of hunting and home-building, DK made his way up the narrow boardwalk that led to Cranky's hut, boosting himself along with his balled fists against the planks. Sure enough, his eccentric grandfather was rocking away in his beloved rocking chair, whose creaking announced the weathered monkey's presence.

In addition, four other primates were gathered around Cranky in a rough circle, leaving room for Donkey Kong to join them. Two rather diminutive chimpanzees, an orangutan with extremely lanky arms, and an enormous gorilla completed the group.

"Well, it's about time, Junior." Cranky went into a brief fit of coughing, then continued. "We're burnin' daylight. Let's begin with the absentees. I know Candy and Funky are supposedly busy runnin' that dingy little tavern—utter waste of their talents, if you ask me, and how they were unable to secure time off to spend with their own kin is beyond all reason…but Kiddy and Dixie. Where are those two scoundrels?"

The tinier of the two chimps, with two blond ponytails flowing out of a colorful beanie hat and blue suspenders, piped up in a somewhat sassy tone. "C'mon, Uncle Crank. I told you yesterday they went off to visit the Brothers Bear for a week on the other side of the jungle. Just because you're starting to become forgetful doesn't mean you can just assume we're monkeying around all the time."

Cranky was about to retort, then, upon further reflection, decided to dismiss Tiny's attitude for the time being. There were more pressing matters to discuss. "Fine. On to the monthly Banana Report, then. Junior, you first."

DK stared open-mouthed at his grandfather. If he'd spoken like that when he was Tiny's age, the old geezer would have unleashed such a tongue-lashing that he would have crawled off to bed in tears. But not placing Cranky above doing so even now, he responded with the proper respect. "Thirty-seven increase in the past thirty days, sir," he stated proudly. "My workouts have been leveling out; I'm at the top of my game. _And_ I found a stash of several bunches hidden in the trunk of one of those hollow trees down by the rapids."

The family head nodded curtly, barely acknowledging DK's success, as usual. "Diddy?"

The other chimpanzee, sporting a red baseball cap and T-shirt, responded next. "No increase or decrease for me, guys. I've sort of been taking to peanuts lately, and I'm too busy with my music to go banana hoarding."

Cranky shook his wrinkled head with disapproval. "You young'uns and your fancy guitars and noisy band nonsense…I wouldn't be surprised if your generation sees to the complete depletion of the family storehouse….Tiny, your report please."

"Twenty-one increase, Uncle Crank," she said with a huff.

"Lanky."

This time, the orangutan with blue overalls over a white shirt stretched his outrageously long arms over his head, yawning before speaking in a congested, almost-impossible-to-take-serious voice. "Let's see, here…alllrighty…yeah, I've got about…approximately…give or take a few…haven't really counted in a while…haven't really done _anything_ in a while, matter o' fact—"

"ON WITH IT, then!" Cranky snapped, banging his cane on the wooden planks.

Lanky froze in his stretching, appearing to notice them for the first time. "Aw yeah, of course, of course…." He furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have five more than last time. Yeah. Five. That sounds right…."

Cranky merely sighed and moved on. "Chunky. Your turn."

The gorilla flinched conspicuously as his name was called. Although the heaviest and strongest of the Kongs, Chunky did not at all enjoy being the center of attention. Especially when the news he had to bear were not good. He adjusted his blue vest and the lime-green hat he wore backwards, trembling severely. "I…uh…I…my report is…uh…" The Kong proceeded to mutter something under his breath that none of the others could hear.

DK's grandfather cupped a frail hand to his ear. "What's that, boy? My hearing isn't what it used to be, you know."

Chunky cleared his throat, nervous beyond all reason. "Uh…two hundred and seventeen decrease…."

"WHAAAAAAT?" Cranky leaned forward and glared at the poor Kong. "How the blazes did you go through so many? Again?"

"It's just…uh…I was so hungry and couldn't find anything else to eat and you always say they're for emergencies but I was tired and desperate and I didn't stop to think and I'm so sorry and now you guys all hate me and I'm a terrible person and…Waaaaaaaaaaaahhh!" Chunky burst into tears, falling onto his behind and pounding the ground like a refrigerator-sized infant. Each strike shook the boardwalk and the tree branches beneath them violently, threatening to break the entire complex in two.

"Chunky, it's alright; calm down. We don't hate you!" Tiny ran over and put a comforting arm on her cousin's shoulder, stroking the gorilla's back with her free hand. Chunky's sobbing simmered down to a low whimper. Tiny looked up at her enraged family head. "Uncle, don't worry about the banana stockpile. Kiddy and Dixie will be coming back with a dozen barrel-loads from the Brothers Bear. We'll be fine."

"Hmph" was Cranky's unconvinced response.

At that moment, a white, clown-like face passed over the top of the canopy behind Cranky's cabin and hovered down toward the boardwalk. The Kong family suddenly forgot all about their banana squabbles and focused their attention on the bowl-like aircraft, readying themselves for a fight.

The Koopa Clown Car descended slowly until it touched down upon the platform in front of DK's hut. As for its occupants, from this distance the monkeys could only make out the unmistakable horned head of Bowser and the faces of two men to either side of the beast.

Cranky, looking furious, was about to leap out of his rocking chair when Donkey Kong put a large hand on his thin shoulder. "I'll handle this, Grandfather."

DK strode out to meet the invading vessel, his other blood relatives following close behind, as Bowser, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon stepped down from the Clown Car, all but the latter displaying no sign of discomfort at having dropped onto private property from the sky.

"What do you want?" the ape demanded, standing and folding his burly arms.

Bowser was about to advance toward the Kongs, but Captain Falcon put out an arm to stop him. "Let me take care of this," he said quietly. "You two aren't exactly the poster boys of diplomacy." Although both of their expressions took a darker tone, the villains relented. The bounty hunter turned to address Donkey Kong. "Don't worry, Kong, we're not here to cause you harm. Actually," he said, moving close so only DK could here, "I need your help. There's to be a…gathering of some sort in Master Hand's Room, a gathering that is supposed to change the course of everything we know—your home as well as mine. Your jungle, your bananas, your family…all you and I care about is apparently at stake. I'm not sure exactly what we're dealing with, but something in my pectoral muscles tells me that Master Hand is out to cause major trouble. I've been reduced to traveling with these low-lives—"He indicated toward Bowser and Ganondorf with his eyes—"only because their destination is the same as mine. But I need you to come with us because Master Hand's emissary claims that we'll only gain entrance into this place if _you're_ with us. So what do you say?" He extended a gloved hand.

The four Kongs behind DK watched with incredulity as, after only a moment's hesitation, he grasped Captain Falcon's hand and shook it vigorously, grinning. "I'm in," he grunted. "When do we leave?"

But the other Kongs would not have it. Diddy pushed Falcon out of the way and stared at his friend as if he had just revoked his love of bananas. "Are you crazy, DK? You can't trust these creeps! Just because you've pummeled them in some tournament doesn't mean you're instant besties who can caper off after some far-off threat like some kind of interregional hero."

"Diddy's right," Tiny said, peering up at him from his right-hand side. "You need to stay and protect your family, DK. The rest of the World can deal with whatever's going on without us. What are you trying to prove?"

Donkey Kong put a hand each on Diddy and Tiny and pulled them close. Bowser and Ganondorf were beginning to look impatient. Meanwhile, Lanky was absent-mindedly inspecting his toes while Chunky eyed the fire-breathing Koopa nervously. The ape spoke in a low, quiet voice.

"Sorry, guys. This is something I've gotta do. I had a vision. Grandma Wrinkly told me that important things are gonna happen, and I must be a part of them. Keep the family safe." He tucked both chimps in a close embrace, then proceeded to Lanky and Chunky, slapping each of them on the back in a gesture of affection. Finally, he turned to where Cranky was still rocking away in his chair from about a hundred feet away, watching them intently.

"Bye, Crank!" he hollered, waving conspicuously and motioning his words with his hands. "I'm going with them on an important journey! I don't know when I'll be back!"

In response, Cranky Kong waved his stick in the air and shouted something back that sounded suspiciously like, "You're not gettin' a hug from me! Git!"

Unable to suppress a smile, DK gave the rest of his family clan another long brotherly look and returned to the Koopa Clown Car with Captain Falcon, who put a hand on the ape's shoulder and began muttering to him. The remaining Kongs followed his movements with lingering disbelief, but this time they made no move to stop him.

Bowser, indifferent to all of this monkey business, set about starting up the Clown Car and waited until the four of them had squeezed into the aircraft. With two enormous bodies crammed between the pair of considerably large humans, there was little room to spare.

"Adios," the Koopa announced to no one in particular, lifting the Clown Car off the boardwalk and guiding it over the canopy, its occupants gazing back at the Kong family tree houses, DK with a sense of longing. The increasingly small figures of his family soon diminished into specks, which disappeared entirely as they surpassed the canopy's leafy treetops and headed into the blue horizon beyond.

Down below, the four Kongs had reconvened around Cranky. An extensive period of silence followed.

"Now what?" Lanky asked finally.

Cranky's expression resembled that of a parrot attempting to teach an ostrich to fly. "Are the youth of today really even lazier than I thought they were? You're goin' after them, of course! With the likes of them coming to _our_ Donkey Kong for help, the World must have gotten itself into some _really_ deep turd this time. You kids need to make sure Junior doesn't get his butt whooped like a Beaver out there." He coughed. "I would go with you, but age does not treat this weathered old ape kindly."

Diddy gaped as his clan father in surprise. "Go after them? But in what? They're flying!"

"And so will you." Cranky's mouth turned up ever so slightly in a crooked smile. "The Funky Flyer's out in the back. You'd better get goin' if you don't want to lose 'em."

* * *

It didn't take long after the destruction of Samus's gunship and the two Arwings for them to determine what was to be their next move. Standing atop the hill that looked down from Hyrule Castle upon the town below, the four Smashers scanned the landscape before them for any sign of the attacker. Samus, analyzing the terrain with her infrared helmet scanner, swept her eyes across the assorted trees and shrubs, searching for anything suspicious. She stopped and focused on a small form hidden behind a tree a short distance before them. Pointed ears…child-like stature…was that…?

"Why is the Kokiri boy down there?" she asked in the electronic voice of her communicator.

"What are you talking about, space lady?" To her astonishment, Samus turned her gaze to behold Young Link, still standing right next to her, McCloud, and Roy. "I'm right here."

Fox peered down at the suspect tree. "Then who…?"

From behind the tree, a third bomb sailed through the air in their direction.

"Watch out!" Roy yelled, diving to the side. Fox, however, rooted his feet firmly in front of the bomb's trajectory, waited for the right moment, and activated his reflector just before it made contact with his head. The bomb reversed its path as if Fox had thrown it himself, colliding with the tree and exploding before it could reach its owner.

Roy and Young Link half-ran, half-stumbled down the hill toward the tree, apprehensively seeking out the bomber through the flames and smoke of the smoldering tree stump. As he cautiously took his first step into the billowing cloud with sword drawn, Young Link suddenly felt a cold metal fist knock him to the ground; the glint of the dancing firelight reflected off the small body of the fist's owner as it turned tail and made a run for it.

"It is…a metal version of you," Roy breathed in disbelief. Just like the metal clones who had stormed the castle.

"I don't care what it is." In an instant, Fox was dashing after the fleeing figure. "It destroyed my Arwing, and it's about to regret it!" The boys began to chase as well, though they were soon matched by Fox's quick stride. Samus, saying nothing, curled up into her Morph Ball and rolled after them.

For a being made of solid steel, Metal Young Link was surprisingly agile. It scurried through the trees down the rest of the castle hill and sped through the entrance to Castle Town. No longer bothering to waste breath for words, they scampered after it, ignoring the various townsfolk, horse-drawn merchant carts, and other travelers that watched incredulously as the chase took to the streets. Metal Young Link seemed even less concerned about the onlooking crowd, shoving its way and slipping in between the taller beings around it as if to elude its pursuers. Fortunately, Fox, Samus, Roy, and the real Young Link showed equal agility in pressing their way past shops, market stands, fountains, trees, and houses, and they were just barely able to keep their quarry in sight.

Before they knew it, the heroes found themselves crossing the drawbridge leading out of Castle Town and into Hyrule Field. The vast rolling slopes of yellow grass stretched out before them, yet Metal Young Link showed no sign of slowing down or changing direction. Rather than follow the winding footpath connecting Castle Town to the rest of Hyrule, it shot off in a fixed southwesterly course, running up and down hillsides as necessary, sunlight reflecting brilliantly off of its smooth surfaces.

Fox and Samus, who possessed greater stamina as adults compared to their younger companions, gradually surpassed the other two chasers and began closing the distance between them and their target, the former scuttling on his light feet and the latter continuing to roll like a sentient pinball. They were nearly within reach of the metal character when behind two nearby trees, two enormous creatures rose into the air and crossed them off.

The Peahats, which looked remarkably like the top half of a pineapple with a serrated propeller at the bottom, made to slice up their unsuspecting prey. But the Smash Tournaments hadn't left Fox's or Samus's reaction time unimproved; in a flash, they acted mid-chase. Fox leapt underneath the spinning blade of the one on the left, paused a moment to gather momentum, and Fire Foxed into the beast's roots, tearing it into flaming shreds and quickly resuming the chase after landing. Samus, still in Morph Ball form, bounced high above the Peahat on the right and, while passing over it, humored the enemy with a glowing red Bomb, which imposed a similar fate while she rolled forward as a marble through an obstacle course.

Roy and Young Link pressed undeterred through the aftermath of the explosion, but the latter would have gasped if he wasn't already out of breath as he realized where the metal being was fleeing.

The dark, towering trees of the Lost Woods loomed before them, their thick canopy blocking out almost all natural light. With the hindrance of the Peahats, the four of them were now far enough behind that it was all they could do to keep Metal Young Link within sight as it disappeared into the densely populated foliage at the edge of the woods.

"Don't let it escape!" Fox yelled as he dashed after it, followed soon after by the rest.

* * *

The enormous Squirtle float sailed slowly but purposefully across the sky, following the convenient easterly wind as it headed across the Kanto Region. The inflated Pokémon appeared to be positioned like a flying squirrel freefalling spread-eagled through the air, its stubby arms and legs outstretched from the main body and shell that made up most of the balloon. From the basket attached underneath, Red, Pichu, Jigglypuff, and Popo looked down upon the rapidly diminishing buildings of Saffron City, which soon gave way to the long stretches of grassy fields and clusters of bushy trees to the west. The combined noise of the high-altitude wind and the burner above their heads providing the energy to propel them upward and onward was nearly deafening, though if they called loudly to each other they could communicate well enough. And the chilly ruckus could not detract from their appreciation of the spectacular view.

"Jiggly!" sighed Jigglypuff, the sun's reflection glistening off her big blue eyes.

"It is beautiful, isn't it, Jigglypuff?" Red closed his eyes and smiled, allowing himself just for a moment to relish the rush of exhilaration he always felt when flying his balloon.

"Pichu-Pi!" Pichu agreed, his pointy ears flapping like two tiny yellow-black sails, perched from one edge of the basket beside his master.

Popo, however, found it much more difficult to enjoy the ride. Though Red had lost Pikachu, he didn't know what it felt like to be missing half of his soul, as Popo did. Without Nana, he found himself overcome by thoughts of hopelessness and isolation; for as long as he could remember, it had always been Nana who had cured him from such emotions.

 _But Nana needs me to be strong now more than ever,_ he decided resolutely, tightening his grip on his hammer. _I will find you, Nana…no matter what it takes…._

For some time, they allowed the Squirtle balloon to bear them westward, Red controlling the burner with a rope when necessary to ensure they maintained a steady height. But after a while, the light of the sun dimmed drastically as it vanished behind a wall of dark gray clouds that had crept up on them from the east.

A strangely shaped, almost spherical gray figure hovered past the float and stopped briefly to stare quizzically at the four unusual creatures occupying its airspace. It floated alongside Jigglypuff and emitted a wish-washy gurgling sound before suddenly glowing white and reforming into a creature shaped like a teardrop with black beady eyes and a black tissue-like base at the bottom. It gurgled again, seeming to indicate with its pointed head that they ought to land. Then, without another sound, it drifted away and out of sight.

"Puff?" the Balloon Pokémon asked, looking with considerable concern into the deep blues and grays of the approaching cumulonimbus masses, which were traveling at an alarming rate. They would be engulfed in a matter of minutes, and that Castform's warning did not bode well.

"Hm," said Red, holding tight onto his hat as the winds began to increase in velocity. "Looks like we might be in for a bit of rain, Jigglypuff, but don't worry; I don't think it'll be _that_ bad of a storm."

As if in defiance of the boy's statement, a blinding flash of light illuminated the clouds, followed almost immediately by an ear-splitting crack of thunder. Within seconds, a few drops progressed to a practical deluge of pouring rain. The sky around them grew even darker as the ground below and the horizon all around became obscured by the dense shrouds now surrounding them.

"Hold on!" Red shouted as their float gave way to the whims of the encroaching storm. Far from a polite tug, it was more like standing in front of an angry Nidoking as it shook the earth with an Earthquake while a flock of Pidgeots sent powerful Gusts toward the center from every direction. It was all any of them could do to prevent themselves from being ripped out of the basket into the turbulent sky. And as if the violent jerks and spinning of their vessel weren't enough, they were soon drenched by the impetuous downpour and, even with eyes tightly shut, dazed by the syncopated flashes of lightning, which were now occurring every few seconds.

It seemed to go on for days. Having long given up the hope that they were still heading in the right direction, Popo began to wonder whether they were doomed to be tossed to and fro by these vicious torrents of wind forever, never again to set foot upon solid ground. Pichu and Jigglypuff simply hung on for dear life, while Red, though bewildered and terrified, did his best to prevent their balloon from cascading to the ground like a meteor by continually pulling on the cord that kept the burner alight, feeding a constant blast of superheated air into the mouth of the balloon's envelope.

Then a huge, starburst-like shadow appeared in the clouds. Red gasped as it approached them and the vapor around it cleared to reveal a truly impressive creature.

 _It's…Zapdos!_ Red gasped and, in spite of himself and their dire situation, could not help but be overcome by a sense of wonderment. The Legendary Pokémon was about the size of the inflated Squirtle above them. Its spiky, bright yellow plumage emitted hundreds of tiny electric jolts as if it were a statically charged flying wig. Its eyes were as two supercharged light bulbs that penetrated the darkness like floodlights, and although it was hard to imagine the bird otherwise, its mood appeared about as tranquil as its surroundings. Zapdos let out a shrill _skree_ that easily matched the raging cacophony of the storm itself, then, after concentrating for a moment and causing a bright blue glow to permeate its body, unleashed a devastating Thunder attack upon the helpless Squirtle balloon.

Red, Jigglypuff, and Popo braced themselves for the intense pain that was sure to follow as their craft was encased in the electrical assault, but to their surprise, none came. Then Red looked to his left and realized that Pichu had enveloped the basket in a Light Screen, which served as a translucent, rose-colored shield against the Thunder.

"Keep it up, Pichu!" Red yelled as the attack's duration lasted for another several seconds, then dissipated. Red looked up in fear of another attack, but the great Thunderbird Pokémon had vanished into the crisscrossing flurries of the storm. But as he returned his gaze to his loyal Mouse Pokémon, he realized that the Light Screen had gone…and Pichu, out of exhaustion after performing a move he'd never used before, had fainted. "Pichu!" Red gathered up the tiny creature in his arms and drew out a Poké Ball. "Return!" He replaced Pichu tenderly on his belt, filled with mixed worry and gratitude. Pichu had saved their lives.

"Jigglyyyyyyy…!" the puffball screeched, clearly indicating that "we're not out of this yet. Now we've got an even bigger problem!"

Indeed, Popo and Red soon became aware of this fact as they felt their stomachs rise to what felt like their throats; the Squirtle was losing height now. Fast.

Red reached over and tugged as hard as he could to release more heat into the balloon and boost them back up. Meanwhile, Popo went around and jettisoned sand bags to lighten their load. But it was no use.

 _Zapdos' Thunder must have punctured the balloon,_ Red realized, not even noticing that by now the thunder and lightning had ceased and the rain had been replaced with heavy snowfall. The wind was as relentless as ever, however, and it seemed intent on making sure their descent was as unstable and uncomfortable as possible.

And so they fell, at the mercy of the frigid elements. In the swirling chaos, Popo thought he caught glimpses of a couple red Nitpickers, birds native to his homeland, entrapped in the blizzard. Unable to process what this meant at the moment, he screamed with the other two as they bumped, skidded, and were whiplashed into the side of one of the fabled Icicle Mountains. Before he felt the impact of their final crash landing, however, he slipped from consciousness and descended into darkness.

* * *

Princess Peach awoke to discover that she was no longer in her cell, but somewhere far worse.

The first thing she noticed was that her arms were shackled to the stone wall above her head. Then she realized she wasn't alone: The PSI boy, the blue-haired swordsman, and…her dear Mario. All hung helplessly attached to the three other "corners" of what was in reality a circular room, the same eerie hand torches providing most of the light.

But what most unsettled her was the enormous contraption situated in the center of the room. It appeared to be comprised of two congruent, volcano-shaped machines, one attached to the floor and the other flipped upside-down and attached to the ceiling. Wires and cables weaved in and out of the device and ran along the floor, walls, and ceiling like some sort of mechanical Kraken. From the two plateaus of the "volcanoes" that faced each other toward the middle, a strange amethyst glow emanated, revealing a large pellet-shaped container strapped to the bottom plateau. And inside the transparent container…

It was Pikachu. The Mouse Pokémon appeared to be coming around just as the rest of them were, though they all looked so exhausted that they were beyond words or attempting to break free.

"Pi…ka…CHUUUU!"

The capsule lit up with bright white light as Pikachu, weak as he was, made a desperate attempt to free himself. But to no avail. Panting, he collapsed onto the bottom of his shock-proof prison.

After what felt like an eternity of silence and waiting (though Peach knew not for what, and had a sickening feeling that she didn't want to find out), two enormous, blood-red double doors she hadn't noticed before to her left swung open as an equally enormous figure floated into the room, trailed by a short, shadowy personage whose features averted illumination. From the latter came a whispery, high-pitched, rather snake-like voice:

"As you command, Masster…at last we shall put it to the tesst!"

Master Hand remained silent, merely allowing the doors to swing shut behind him and hovering in place, intent on the machine that the short silhouette had now set to work putting into operation by way of a control panel covered in glowing buttons, levers, and dials. A soft hum gradually grew to a steady whirring noise, at which point the figure flipped a final yellow switch and stood back to watch.

A tear rolled down the princess's cheek as she and the others said and did nothing, lacking the energy to resist the surely horrific spectacle that was about to take place. What kind of monster would treat such a cheerful creature so cruelly?

The purple glow brightened as the whirring raised itself to the sort of noise one might expect to precede an explosion. At last, it became so bright that all she could see was whiteness, and then a moment later, it diminished quickly back to its original intensity, allowing her to behold the grim product.

Pikachu was no longer inside a capsule; in fact, he now appeared to be in the motion of standing on his hind legs and waving directly at her. But to her horror, Peach discovered that his happy expression, as well as the rest of his body, was frozen in place. And he now stood upon an orange, disc-like pedestal inscribed with that symbol on the Wire Frames' faces. Like a trophy.

Without a word, Master Hand grabbed the immobilized Pokémon, trophy stand and all, and disappeared back through the double doors with the shrouded individual, trailing behind a laugh that echoed back into the circular room, into Princess Peach's mind, and into her nightmares.


	4. Chapter 4: The Deception Game

Chapter 4: The Deception Game

* * *

 _ **T**_ he lush Chucklehuck Woods stretching out before them marked the end of the Mushroom Kingdom and the beginnings of the neighboring Beanbean Kingdom. It was a border Luigi had not crossed since he and Mario had first endeavored to save the fate of both kingdoms from the wicked Cackletta and her devious minion Fawful. Needless to say, entering This World that had coexisted for so long without interfering in the affairs of his adjacent homeland brought back all sorts of memories for the mustachioed man—both pleasant and otherwise.

With Mr. Game & Watch's two-dimensional residence behind them, the small party had embarked across the glistening emerald fields of Subcon, only a few miles' journey separating them from the edge of the territory ruled from Princess Peach's Castle. It had been a relatively uneventful trek thus far, although within this relatively wild outer region of the kingdom, they had to be wary of the occasional Shy Guys wandering across the gentle slopes, Pidgits diving erratically from the sky on their magic carpets (these tended to end up in Kirby's bottomless stomach), and bright scarlet Cobrats slithering menacingly through the tall grass. After a couple hours of this, the heroes found the bushy wall of the Chucklehuck Woods looming ahead and decided to rest on a small hill.

Luigi, already famished by his exertions since leaving G.W.'s house, unpacked a Super Mushroom from his drawstring bag and took an ambitious bite, gazing thoughtfully into the dense woods below. G.W. nibbled on a black sausage while Kirby, ever snacking on the wildlife yet ever willing to ingest more, simply sat leaning back on his stubby little arms, wondering vaguely how upset his companions would be if their food happened to mysteriously disappear while they weren't looking.

After a while, Mr. Game & Watch leapt to his feet. "Shall we pro-ceed?" he suggested.

Luigi nodded. "Let's-eh-go." He brushed the residue of his meal off of his overalls, swung his bag over his shoulder, and led the way down the knoll into the Chucklehuck Woods.

It was much as he last remembered: a twisting labyrinth of gnarled trees with enormous, platter-sized leaves and prickly lavender shrubs. Kaleidoscopic fragments of warm yellow sunlight broke through the gaps between trees, casting shadows behind every branch, rock, and blade of grass. The air felt suddenly more humid than the open-ended Mushroom Kingdom, giving off unfamiliar aromas of strange flowers and the sweet, lingering scent of Chuckola Syrup. A light breeze created a sense of perpetual motion as the trio treaded warily down the narrow, winding path, which would often branch off in several directions and require them to make a rough judgment as to which would take them northwest. For the plan was to cross through the Chucklehuck Woods just enough to avoid the Icicle Mountains, and then make a beeline through the Twilight Forest toward the Battlefields, within which Master Hand's Room would be found.

Although they pressed on for what felt like hours, they encountered relatively few of the woods' natural inhabitants, spotting the occasional Beanie darting through the shadows around them and careful to avoid the peculiar teal shrubs that Luigi knew well to be Fuzzbushes, which hid their faces except when attacking with a barrage of regurgitated Fuzzies at their enemies.

At one small clearing, Kirby became entranced by what appeared to be a huge orange Chuckola Fruit. "Yum!" he said appraisingly, preparing to inhale.

"Oh no!" Only now stopping to realize what Kirby was doing, Luigi called frantically, "Don't eat a-that!"

But it was too late. The Hero of Dreamland's vacuum-powered mouth had begun dragging the suspiciously furry fruit toward its host. Finding itself yanked from its peaceful state of vegetation, the camouflaged Fuzzbush awoke with the all the tranquility of an ornery Koopa Kid, flailing its bushy head and spitting out spiky black Fuzzies like a malfunctioning pitching machine.

Initially, the Fuzzies all crammed into Kirby's elastic mouth, but their wriggling spikes flailed against his cheeks, soon forcing it open and releasing the manic-eyed creatures into the woods.

Luigi and Mr. Game & Watch sprang into action. The latter swung a black chair at the bouncing Fuzzies, while the former took advantage of his high jumps to come from above and hop from head to head, knocking them out. Soon the frenzied monsters all lay K.O.'d on the grassy forest floor, and for good measure, Luigi combined his green fireball punch with G.W.'s black torch, and together they turned the Fuzzbush into a black scorch mark on the ground.

"Not hungry," Kirby said apologetically.

The day wore on, yet the Chucklehuck Woods seemed to go on interminably. Luigi was fairly confident they were headed in the right direction and should pass into the Twilight Forest relatively soon, but his companions, even less familiar with the territory than him, did not share his assurance, following him warily.

Gradually, the bright golden sunshine interlacing through the trees deepened into a luminous orange and then a faint pinkish-red. Night was approaching, and the small party accordingly found a more-or-less-secure clearing to set up camp.

As dusk fell, Luigi wearily lay down on the soothing grass, looking up through the trees as the last traces of light slipped from sight. He absent-mindedly watched as G.W. retreated into his black, two-dimensional tent with black Z's beginning to drift out through the entrance. To his left, Kirby had lit a small, well-contained fire and, donning a tall chef's hat and a frying pan, was contentedly cooking himself a late night snack which smelled of sautéed Cobrat.

He sighed. Despite the progress they'd made, they still had such a long way to go. If only they had a quicker means of transportation between kingdoms—air ships, Warp Pipes, anything—yet such journeys had typically been so infrequent that it was unlikely they'd come across anything of the sort. It was only the fighting tournaments held by Master Hand (dubbed "Smash Tournaments") that had led to any interregional communication at all; the only reason they even knew what the Nintendo World looked like was because of the maps all the participants had been given to lead them to the Gathering Points (which had typically been in the Unclaimed Territory). However, in the past month or so this seemed to be changing, as he'd heard of parties in Hyrule and festivals in the Kanto Region that were now inviting people from all across the land. But because they had all been so strangely closed off from each other, Luigi knew very little about anything outside the Mushroom Kingdom. It didn't make sense. He almost felt as if there was some kind of suppressed memory that would fill in the missing pieces and explain everything that was going on.

But the matter at hand was to rescue Mario and the Princess, he reminded himself. So that would be the first order of business before even thinking about any of his random philosophical questions.

In the midst of his drowsy musings, Luigi heard a quiet rustling coming from behind, where he had left his sack of supplies against a tree. Having a weird feeling that something was wrong, he forced himself off the ground and turned around to behold a dark shape making off into the woods with all of his food, coins, and personal items.

"Hey!" he cried. "Give that a-back!"

Before he or Kirby could go after it, another dark shape whizzed through the sky from between the trees above and intercepted the thief. A brief struggle accompanied by the sound of a metal blow was heard, and then the perpetrator was thrown back into the light of Kirby's fire, landing face first with a groan.

"You!" Luigi stared in shock as he realized the thief's identity.

Popple was a diminutive Beanish who wore a purple mask over his big yellow eyes, a striped purple shirt, black trousers, and a black beret. His wide green lips cracked into a sly grin as he recognized Luigi.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Was this yours?" He indicated the bag of Luigi's belongings in his hand. "My apologies, Mr. Mustache. Here ya go." Popple made as if to hand it over to Luigi, but just when Luigi was about to grab it, he snatched it back and made a break for it toward the opposite end of the clearing. "Psyche! See ya, suckers!"

Then, exactly as before, a dark figure flew back out of the trees and cut off Popple's escape. The burglar squealed as he fell with a _thump_ back where he started, this time staying down with a dazed look on his masked face.

As Luigi retrieved his sack, Kirby and Game & Watch (who by this time had awoken and come to see what all the fuss was about) watched warily as the airborne apprehender floated down to meet them, the glow of the flames revealing his noble Beanish features, his golden shoulder-length hair, his white tunic, his red cape, his sheathed rapier, and the turquoise winged bean on which he was flying.

"Hi!" Kirby greeted, even his childlike self recognizing a friendly presence when he saw one.

Upon discovering that their beneficiary was none other than the heir to the Beanbean throne, Luigi could hardly contain his joy "Prince a-Peasley! You saved my a-stuff; thank you."

The green-skinned royalty flashed a charming smile. "Luigi, it's been too long, my friend. What brings you about these parts? I would have wagered that you of all people would know the dangers of the Woods—especially after sundown." He climbed off his queer vessel and gave Luigi a warm (if a little overbearing) embrace.

As Luigi explained the urgency of their quest to stop Master Hand and rescue his brother and Princess Peach from Master Hand's Room, Peasley's expression became one of genuine concern.

"I see. Well, it is your duty to protect your kingdom as one of its guardian heroes. I had been searching for this miscreant who swiped some of Mother's jewels—" He nodded toward Popple. "—and have now apprehended him thanks to your help. Let us make haste to the Castle, where I am sure the good Queen Bean would be glad to provide you with a more…efficient mode of journeying to Master Hand's Room." Seeing that Game & Watch did not appear overly enthused by his new traveling companion (two-dimensional silhouettes tend to use pretty straightforward body language), Peasley added a bit belittlingly, "Unless, of course, you'd prefer to make your valiant quest on foot."

"Thief?" Kirby glanced inquiringly at Popple's unconscious figure.

Peasley let out a short laugh that reminded Game & Watch of an arrogant, aristocratic Toad at a high-class dinner party in Peach's Castle he'd attended once. "Never fear. He shall be secure here until I send Beanish soldiers to fetch him." He reached into his tunic, pulled out a peculiar yellow bean, and tossed it onto Popple. For a second G.W. thought the Beanish was crazy, but then it grew and stretched to envelop itself around the lawbreaker's figure, forming a thick bean-shaped cocoon.

With that, to Game & Watch's irritation, Peasley unsheathed his rapier and pointed it at the sky unnecessarily. "On to adventure, comrades!"

Having swiftly packed their few supplies, Luigi and Co. trekked after the Beanbean prince, trying to shake off their drowsiness with the added motivational boost of not wanting to find out what other dangers might creep on unsuspecting sleepers within the Chucklehuck Woods.

* * *

"Ugh…."

Red slowly opened his eyes to behold a bright, overcast sky. His head throbbing with pain (along with most of his body), he carefully sat up and took in his surroundings.

Snow. Mountains. Ice. As far as he could see in any direction, the muffled sunlight sparkled off of innumerable ice crystals like some kind of magical cake frosting. He could see they were near the bottom of a valley between two steeply sloping mountains. Before and behind him could be seen a V-shaped slice of the horizon, pouring light into the pass but promising little warmth and no apparent exit. Along each slope were situated a number of bare, snow-laden trees as well as many treacherous rock faces, just daring anyone to try and climb them. Some twenty yards up one mountainside, the Squirtle balloon lay punctured and strewn like a giant torn-up dress covered in wood splinters.

It was then Red noticed that most of his body was numb. He had no feeling in his extremities whatsoever—he was surprised he could even manage a sitting position with his arms hanging down like limp sausages and his legs about as useful as a Magikarp in a Gym Leader battle. Not even bothering to feel his face (which at the moment felt like nothing more than a clay mask plastered onto his skull), he turned to look beside him and found, to his relief, that Jigglypuff had returned to her Pokéball of her own accord before the crash, resting safely next to Pichu on his belt. But where was that Eskimo midget …Popo. That was his name. The cold had clearly addled Red's brain as much as his body. He scanned the frozen landscape all around until he spotted a red glow at the very bottom of the valley some thirty yards below. A small figure that looked from a distance like a puffy blue marshmallow appeared to be tending a large fire, although how the Ice Climber managed to create a flame in this forsaken place, he had no clue.

Popo, noticing Red had arisen, trudged up through the snow to where the young trainer lay. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Fine." Red tried to move his legs in an attempt to stand and failed. "Can't move, though."

Concerned, Popo came closer. "You're turning blue. That short-sleeved shirt isn't doing you much good. We need to get you warmed up." Then, to Red's great surprise, the Icicle Mountains native reached down with his fuzzy mittens and, with a heave, lifted his body and began carrying him back down toward the fire. The boy supposed as he was hauled to the glowing flames that despite their shortness, the Ice Climbers must have become quite strong living in such harsh conditions. Soon, Popo had him thawing beside the flickering fire, wrapped in an outrageously thick though itchy blanket made of what looked like Polar Bear fur. As his limbs regained feeling, he clenched his teeth and shivered with the excruciating pain of the cold, though he much preferred pain to amputation. Gazing into the burning embers of Popo's bonfire (which was at least as tall as Red and therefore radiated a considerable amount of heat), he considered their present plight.

"What do we do now?" he asked Popo, who was sitting next to the fire opposite him, keeping his hands close to it and occasionally feeding it more dead tree branches.

Despite their jarring crash landing, Popo felt a lot more clear-minded in their present situation; they were in his element. This was where he thrived. "Luckily, we're very close to Freezy Cavern, where Nana and I live. We'll head over there to stock up—not a lot of supplies survived the crash besides my blanket—and begin our journey again."

Red could almost feel the strength of Popo's determination. He could tell there was no way any setback would deter him from finding his twin, Nana. He, of course, felt just as strongly about rescuing his first and dearest Pokémon, Pikachu, but that hadn't stopped nature's extreme conditions from putting a damper on his mood.

For another half hour or so, Popo waited patiently while the color returned to Red's face and arms. Then, they set off across the rocky valley to Freezy Cavern. Popo spoke the truth; within 45 minutes, they came to a halt in front of an inconspicuous rift in the rocky mountain face, almost completely hidden by the snow and a jutting segment of the wall concealing the entrance to the cave.

But on this occasion, to Popo and Red's bewilderment, the snowy path leading up to the entrance was scattered by something big. Something really big. Yet they listened closely and could hear nothing coming from inside.

"Hopefully whatever's in there has gone."

Ever so cautiously, Popo beckoned his companion to follow him and stealthily crept up to the gap in the rock, peering around the jutting edge and, finding nothing but the disturbed snow out of the ordinary, slid into the cavern. A fairly narrow, zigzagging trail soon led them into the sudden expanse of the Ice Climbers' home. Upon entering, Popo gasped.

It was a wreck. Freezy Cavern was comprised of a single large chamber, mostly made of ice with some rocky veins running throughout. Icicles formed constellations of pointed tips across the high ceiling, with some reaching all the way to the ground and forming icy columns. Despite its crude appearance, Red could see how under normal circumstances the place would feel homely—comfortable, even. But many of these columns had been severed and shattered. And that wasn't all. Across the floor of the cave (which was currently lit by natural light penetrating through the narrow passageway as well as the thick ice above), what used to be ice tables, chairs, beds, couches, and other furniture lay in shambles, some parts still mostly intact. To one side, a considerable collection of ice picks, ropes, parkas, frozen meat, sacks of flour, and other food storage were strewn and torn apart, giving every impression of a ransacked residence.

"What happened here?" Red whispered, horrified yet relieved to find Freezy Cavern empty.

Popo merely shook his head dismally. "Someone—or something—got inside and trashed the place. I have no idea why; maybe it was after…me…." Clutching his hammer tightly, he stepped across his destroyed home, taking in the damage with a chill running through his body that had nothing to do with the temperature. _Who would do this?_ he thought.

As if waiting to respond, an earth-shaking _thump_ sounded from outside. Stricken with fear, the two Smashers turned apprehensively to the entrance.

"Jigglypuff, go!" Jigglypuff materialized out of her Pokéball and, realizing from her trainer's demeanor that they were in danger, watched the crack expectantly. But nothing could prepare them for what came next.

Shaking the entire cave with each simian step, Metal Donkey Kong burst out of the passage, beating its chest with an eerie lack of voice that somehow seemed even scarier than if it had unleashed an ear-splitting bellow.

Immediately, Popo stretched forth his hand and sent a stream of frost at the intruder, temporarily freezing it in place. To Red's surprise, he then turned and began running back into the disheveled cavern.

"This way! There's a hidden exit!"

Red and Jigglypuff wasted no time in following after him, who led them to a crawl space concealed behind the ice couch. Incentivized by the cracking noise of Metal DK breaking free from the ice, they scurried desperately into the tunnel, trailing close behind the Ice Climber, hoping the tiny passage would prove impenetrable to their pursuer.

But alas; to their great alarm, an even louder crash echoed back in the cave as the exceedingly dense doppelganger punched mercilessly through the solid wall of ice, creating its own path through the tunnel.

Hastily, the three heroes picked up the pace, Popo being short enough to merely run through the winding path of ice crystals while ducking, Red crawled hastily behind and Jigglypuff Rollouting steadily forward in the rear.

Just when Red began to think they would reach a dead end and find themselves trapped before the rampaging beast, the crawl space took a steep upward turn and led them to a bright opening into the frigid air. Panting, they clambered out of the hole onto a much higher ledge on the side of the mountain, stumbling after Popo to put as much distance between them and Metal Donkey Kong as possible. Less than thirty seconds later, it smashed through the opening and loped frighteningly fast towards them. Too fast. There was no way they could outrun it. With an impressive leap, it propelled itself into the air in a trajectory that would surely crush them like a ton of bricks falling onto a Goomba….

Out of nowhere, a green polka-dotted egg rolled down the mountain and a lime-colored creature burst out, landing squarely in front of the steel mass. Red, Popo, and Jigglypuff watched in awe as he stuck out an abnormally long, sticky red tongue and swallowed the disproportionately large monster. Coinciding with an almost comical _pop_ , it emerged from below Yoshi's tail as a solid metal egg and careened swiftly down the mountainside. Far below, Metal Donkey Kong broke free of its oval-shaped confinement, but against all odds, it tumbled straight into Popo's still-burning bonfire.

Yet that did not stop it. Like a mad metallic demon, it turned to its quarry above and scrambled back up the mountain, clearly enraged as flames flickered around its bulky body.

They were about to make a break for it, but came to a halt, standing speechless as Metal DK's features began to melt. Its face and limbs dripped in a silver stream that finally ended just ten feet away as it collapsed into a puddle of liquid metal, reaching toward them menacingly in its last slow seconds of existence.

Silence prevailed over the group for a while as a light breeze whistled through the snowy valley.

"Jiggly!" The Pokémon exclaimed to Yoshi, amazed. That is to say, "You saved our lives!"

Yoshi gave a friendly nod. "Yoshi, Yoshi!" Meaning, "We'll all need to help each other if we're going to beat Master Hand!"

* * *

The passengers of the Koopa Clown Car were not a talkative bunch. But the silence itself wasn't the awkward part; what made the ride uncomfortable were the incredibly close quarters they'd been forced to accommodate. After all, Bowser hadn't designed the craft to carry any more than himself and maybe a kidnapped princess, let alone two brawny men and a burly ape.

Yet here they were, too preoccupied by their physical discomfort and internal motives to appreciate the natural wonders around them.

The Clown Car hovered steadily above a tropical canopy of activity. The creatures within the Kongo Jungle were mostly hidden, but the palm leaves' frequent disturbance spoke of a thriving ecosystem below, and every now and then a parrot would venture out from between the trees and get its bearings or prepare to dive back down to reclaim its territory from invasive Beavers and Zingers.

For quite some time, they zoomed across the sea of green, the propeller beneath the Clown Car's devious smile drowning out all other noise like a helicopter. Even if they'd attempted to converse, no one would have likely heard it. But that was the price of efficient travel, Bowser thought, giving up his effort to shift his scaly elbow above DK's hairy arm.

Eventually, when the Koopa began to wonder whether the jungle was as endless as the staircase in Peach's Castle that had once led to his highest lair, some indistinct gray shapes crept into sight along the horizon. It soon became clear that these jagged blurs were in fact incredibly tall mountains. Drawing closer, they made out the periwinkle majesty of the snowcapped Icicle Mountains, looming ahead like some titanic spike strip intent on impeding their progress.

At last, someone decided it was time to speak up.

"You gotta go around!" Donkey Kong bellowed, squeezing an arm out from the side of the Clown Car and pointing his basketball-sized hand to the west.

Never having taken this route to Master Hand's previous tournaments and not feeling particularly thrilled by the prospect of flying over 20,000 feet above sea level, Bowser adjusted their course accordingly, heading for what appeared to be the far western end of the mountains.

At length, they found the wisdom of the monkey's directions confirmed as both the mountains and the jungle appeared to come to an end, trailing off into a faint rolling landscape beyond. The imposing mountains soon tapered off into hills while the tropical greenery thinned out into scattered clusters of conifers just as quickly. The coinciding boundaries somehow metamorphosed into rocky plains and empty fields of tall yellow grass.

Suddenly, an unsettling spluttering noise erupted from within the Clown Car. Their flight became jerky and rough, tossing them to and fro like a jinxed broomstick.

Bowser growled in annoyance. "Something's caught in the propeller. Probably some stupid bird with the navigational instincts of a rock. I'll have to set us down somewhere."

As if on cue, he spotted an almost crop circle-like bald spot in a stretch of brown grass. Stranger still, a solitary arch of hewn stone sat in the center. Yet only Ganondorf noticed this clearing's outline resembled the shape of a Wolfos, only sleeker…and with a bushy tail-like protrusion coming out of its back….

The machine landed in the clearing with a shudder. Donkey Kong and Captain Falcon were all too willing to clamber out onto the ground and enjoy free movement of their limbs while Bowser crouched down to inspect the propeller, opening a hatch near the bottom to view the engine and other inner workings. Ganondorf, seemingly oblivious to the rest, stared at the arch with a scowl. There was a dangerous magic about this place. How could he be unable to pinpoint it?

"What the…"

DK and Captain Falcon crowded around to see the cause of the Koopa King's unfinished exclamation. Bowser pulled a fistful of sticky, dripping yellow chunks out of the Clown Car.

DK's heart leapt into his throat. "Pineapple…but the only one who could launch it fast enough to clog the propeller is…"

"Wha-hey!"

Chunky Kong fluttered his disproportionately small arms like wings as he sat on the nose of the Funky Flyer. More or less resembling an airplane with a giant barrel in the middle, Funky's aircraft clipped along at well over twice the speed of the Koopa Clown Car. Behind the gorilla, Diddy Kong was at the wheel located on the giant barrel with Tiny and Lanky Kong beside him.

They had followed a safe distance behind the grinning clown face for quite some time, careful to remain far enough away to avoid being discovered. Then, when it seemed they would be lucky enough to trail Donkey Kong and his new traveling companions all the way to Master Hand's Room, Lanky thought it prudent to blow into his Grape Shooter and nail Chunky in the back of the head. This immediately escalated into a full-on fight between the two juvenile monkeys despite the reconciliatory efforts of Diddy and Tiny. Unfortunately, Chunky's pineapple launcher aimed awry after its user had been dealt a blow to the face by the orangutan's elastic arms, and as a consequence, a solitary pineapple projectile hurled into the sky, homing in on the nearest moving target: the Clown Car.

All four Kongs gasped in unison when they saw it go down onto the Unclaimed Territory, leaving behind a trail of smoke.

Tiny sighed. "Now look what you two have done." But Chunky was having too much fun playing airplane at the prow to listen, while Lanky was simply too aloof to care.

"We'll have to risk them seeing us," Diddy resolved, cranking the wooden gear shift that began the Funky Flyer's descent and extended its landing gear. "They'll need our help to get back in the air."

Captain Falcon almost raised his helmet's visor to admire the Funky Flyer's impressive entrance. Almost.

By now, the plane's proximity had stolen all of their attention, even Ganondorf's.

"Son of a…what in the name of…I can't believe this!" Despite Chunky's child-like grin as he landed with a ground-shaking jump and squeezed DK like a teddy bear, the latter was none too pleased to see them. Diddy and Tiny disembarked with slightly guilty looks, while Lanky remained on the ship doing a wavy dance move with his arms in the opposite direction.

But before he could interrogate them about leaving Jungle Japes against instructions, Tiny put a sassy finger to his lips. "Save it. Obviously Gramps knew you would need our help with This World-saving business. Nothing's changed except this time we're going a bit further from home. The Kong family sticks together."

DK snorted, gesturing at the steaming Clown Car. "Yeah, now that's what I call help. I don't know how we'd be unnecessarily delayed without you."

"Sorry about that," Diddy said apologetically. "Chunky got a little trigger happy. But that doesn't change a thing. Dixie and Kiddy can take care of Gramps; you'll have to deal with us whether you like it or not."

DK sighed, relenting. "Fine. But if I ever see one—"

The other Kongs never heard what their clan leader didn't want to see, for at that moment, the stone arch in the center of the clearing went, for lack of a better term, ape-crazy. A translucent blue surface panned across the arch's underside with a sharp sound akin to the firing of a giant laser beam. What disturbed them even more was when a hunched blue figure stepped out from behind the arch.

It looked like an umbrella without a handle, with stubby arms, a head, a duck bill, a white collar, a single red antenna, and two glistening white eyes surrounded by swirling red designs. Few queerer beings had ever been encountered.

"Well, hello there!" it said in a tone reminiscent of a car salesman. "I'm Chet Rippo, entrepreneur extraordinaire, seller of fine wares and rare finds. I see you folks have a keen eye for merchandise, seeing as you've all come to see the exquisite—"

He choked as Bowser grabbed him by the collar, lifting him several feet off the ground and causing his little stubby arms to flail helplessly. "Cut the crap, Rippo. I know your name. You're that creep who Kammy told me used to scam people in the underground pipe system of the Mushroom Kingdom. I heard you even ripped off Mario a few times. We've got places to go and Hands to beat to a pulp, so unless you wanna see how much business you'll get without a mouth—"

"Cool it, Koopa." Captain Falcon interceded, grabbing Chet Rippo away and setting him back down. "Let's hear the platypus out. If he tries to pull a fast one on us, we can just ditch him and be on our merry way."

Panting, Rippo finally composed himself enough to speak. "I…can…help…you…find…Master…Hand."

For the first time, Ganondorf's interest was perked. "Speak then, vermin!"

"Gladly. Y'all see this beauteous archway here? Well, it's a lot more than a measly pile of rocks. No, folks, what you have before you is one of the extremely rare Regional Portals!" He presented the arch proudly to the eight Nintendonians as if they couldn't already see it. "Here's how it works: You step through this here portal, and it gives you a one-way ticket straight to Master Hand's Room! It's the chance of a lifetime, my good friends, and all for the small price of 500 coins!"

"500 coins?" Bowser had already forgotten Captain Falcon's insolent behavior. "What kind of 'Shrooms are you smoking? Let's blow this dump!" He stomped off toward the Clown Car, having already forgotten the fact that it was broken.

As he headed away, a hairy orange figure hurdled through the air, jumped off of Bowser's head, and did the unthinkable.

"LANKY, NO!"

All watched, stunned, as the ever-playful, ever-ignorant Kong leapt straight into the Regional Portal, disappearing like a derezzed TRON motorcycle.

Without another word, DK propelled himself after his simian cousin, with Diddy, Tiny, and Chunky following suit.

Chet Rippo sighed, pretending he'd just suffered a huge loss. "Well, so much for fiscal propriety…."

Ganondorf, Bowser, and Captain Falcon, meanwhile, just stood there, trying to register what had just happened.

The Gerudo King shrugged, turning toward the Funky Flyer. "At least we now have transport that is imbecile-free." But Captain Falcon dashed around him, blocking his progress. "Out of my way, cretin!"

The Captain shook his head. "There's no point in going on this way. That guy in the Krystal Koconut said if we came without Kong, then we can forget getting into Master Hand's Room, remember? We've gotta go after 'em."

"Then I shall personally knock down the door to the Room myself." Ganondorf shoved his way past Captain Falcon and kept walking.

Bowser, arms folded pensively, threw up his hands. "I hate to say it, but Falcon's right. Master Hand made sure not one uninvited guest ever got into his tournaments. If he doesn't want us to find him, then we won't. We have to bring Kong." With that, he and Captain Falcon vanished in quick succession through the Portal.

Ganondorf gave a mighty groan. "This had better be worth it…." He and his cape were the last to enter the Portal before the blue screen blipped out of sight, leaving the arch as ominously bare as before.

Chet Rippo stepped forward, eying the Koopa Clown Car and Funky Flyer greedily and rubbing his hand stubs together. "Heh. I would've preferred hard cash, but these'll fetch a nice price in the underground market. What a buncha Class A suckaroonies. Don't even recognize the emblem of Star Fox when they see it!"

* * *

The emerald wisps of Farore's Wind deposited Link, Zelda, Falco, and Nana just outside the gaping, cavernous mouse hole in Master Hand's Room. Without a clue of what awaited them beyond, they stepped into the impenetrable darkness.

Almost immediately, the light behind them vanished, and though they continued forward, all sense of direction soon was lost. Then, just as suddenly, a surreal rush of light spread before them, plunging the small party into a bizarre outside world.

It was a broad landscape unlike anything they had ever seen. Long, gradual hills stretched into the horizon with no indication of an end. Most remarkably, the ground as far as they could see consisted of a magenta fluorescence that slowly flashed between white and purple every few seconds. It was a most unnatural and inexplicably unsettling sight.

"This must be the Battlefields." Zelda took a tentative step onto the constantly fluctuating surface. Hard as a Goron-smelted sword.

The others advanced close behind, experiencing a mixed sense of wonder and unsettlement as they journeyed into the glowing wasteland.

"The Great Fourside City should be on the other side," Nana said, pointing across the fields with her hammer. "If we hurry, maybe we can warn everyone before Master Hand snatches anyone else."

Falco snickered. "You really don't realize what's going on, do you, Fluffy?" Nana tensed a little, but did not respond. "Master Hand's not gonna _go_ after anyone else. I've seen this kind of stuff before with space bandits. He wants his enemies…"

"…to come to him," Link finished, horrified as the truth dawned on him. Knowing Hyrule, he'd be willing to bet that Young Link and others were already on their way to rescue them. "That's why he let us escape; we've already served our purpose…."

The party moved on in silence for a moment as they took it all in. There was no telling what Master Hand's motives were for luring the best and brightest of the Nintendo World into his grasp, but they could be fairly certain it wasn't for tea and crumpets.

"All the more reason for us to reach the city with haste, then," the Hylian princess said at last. "We must prepare our kingdoms for the great conflict that will surely come to pass."

"Yeah, yeah." Falco idly examined his ruffled wing plumage as they walked. "That's easy for all of you to say. My home is space. Ain't no way some oversized sanitation gloves are gonna reach me out there."

Zelda frowned. "It is not wise to underestimate the Hands, Falco Lombardi. We can scarcely imagine—"

Without warning, she came to a halt as an invisible force pushed Link, Falco, and Nana away from her onto the ground, and a translucent blue diamond materialized around her. At first Link thought Zelda had somehow accidentally activated Nayru's Love, but he soon realized this was not the case. For Zelda appeared as astonished as the rest of them, and she pushed in vain against the encapsulating energy barrier as it lifted her off the ground and sped like a bullet into the distance, disappearing behind one of the higher points of the Battlefield.

"Princess!" Link was the first to spring into action, unsheathing the Master Sword and sprinting after her. Falco, shaken but livid, sped after him, with Nana bringing up the rear. In a matter of minutes, they crested the top of the small hill—coming to an abrupt halt when they saw what awaited them.

Metal Zelda. Its expressionless features stared dispassionately at the group, brushing back a strand of metallic hair and moving its arms into battle position. A clear challenge.

What was more, Link could see the non-metal Zelda suspended in her crystalline prison not far beyond her hostile likeness, helplessly watching the scene below.

Not one to mince words, the Hero of Time sprung forward, bringing his sword down upon his enemy. To his dismay, the strike did no more than push it back a few inches, the blade bouncing back with a jarring pain.

Metal Zelda responded coolly by jumping forward and lashing out with a Lightning Kick, which sparked and sent Link careening back to where he'd started.

"Okay," Falco remarked. "Maybe we should think this out before anyone else does something stup—"

Before he could finish, Falco found himself similarly tossed backward by a silent Din's Fire.

Nana, having no intention of becoming Metal Zelda's next victim, broke out in a run toward it. But before the next dose of Din's Fire ignited, she used her hammer to pole vault over the spontaneous flames and, still airborne, conjured a particularly sharp Freezy and drove it into Metal Zelda's head.

While Nana made her dent, Link leapt back to his feet and came at it again, this time maintaining a wise distance, and rather than going for a direct attack, he lit a bomb and chucked it. Nana stumbled away just in time, but Metal Zelda, who was quite occupied pulling an icicle out of her face, was not so lucky.

The explosion engulfed Metal Zelda and exhumed billows of smoke from where it had detonated. Link allowed himself a small grin. They had done it.

Unfortunately, the silhouette of their foe that stepped out of the smoke begged to disagree. Had it been capable of laughter, Link was certain it would be doing so.

Yet in its victory over Link's and Nana's attacks, the metal clone failed to pay attention to the third combatant, who, feathers singed, abandoned all inhibitions and drew his blaster.

The superheated segment of red light caught Metal Zelda square in the chest before it could counter with Nayru's Love. It folded in on itself and collapsed into a pool of melted iron.

Falco twirled his blaster deftly between his fingers and holstered it with not a little theatricality. "Another one bites the dust."

Zelda graciously smiled down upon them as the blue crystal around her dissolved and she floated like an angel to the purple ground.

At first Link thought he was having double vision. Or quadruple vision, in this case. But somewhere in the confusion of the smoke and Zelda's graceful descent, her single figure had somehow become four, all in a line with the exact same peaceful expression, hands clasped together.

Nana was just as befuddled. "Is this some kind of weird magic?"

Falco narrowed his eyes, reaching for his gun holster. "Yeah, what the heck is going on?"

Finally overcoming his speechlessness, all Link could manage was, "…Zelda?"

"Link!" all four responded simultaneously.

Now conscious of their replicated selves, the Zeldas quickly backed away from each other, displaying equal confusion.

 _So they're not all the same,_ Link realized.

The Zelda on the far left stepped forward, fists clenched. "Hero of Time, these imposters have come to put an end to our mission. You must destroy them and expose them for the fakes they are!"

"Indeed!" The second Zelda beamed, rocking back and forth on her heels like a little girl. "Take care of these three dummies so that we can be together forever. You're my hero, Link; only I can offer you a bond even stronger than the Triforce!"

Watching the proceedings, Nana face-palmed. Link remained utterly focused on each Zelda as she spoke, summoning every bit of discernment he could muster. Meanwhile, Falco's expression appeared as if he had just become the victim of Wario's odious flatulence.

"Link," the third Zelda spoke quietly, "You know me. I trust you to make the right decision."

"Do what you must," the fourth Zelda lamented. "I suppose once I am free of these cheap mimics, we shall endeavor to do the impossible. What does it matter, then? All of us will go the way of the world in time; fate has dealt us a cruel hand, no matter whether we fail now or later…."

Finally, Link could take it no longer. "Stop!" he yelled. "I will decide which of you is the real Zelda."

"Yes!" the second Zelda cried gleefully. "Ask me something special…something only _your_ Princess would know. Then, we can rule Hyrule together, with me as your queen!"

"Get on with it, then; the sooner these reprobates have been obliterated, the sooner our other enemies can be brought to the dust!"

"So be it…not that it will make any difference in the end…."

Link thought carefully. "Alright. What was the last thing you told me before I gave you the Ocarina of Time and you played it, restoring peace to the Time Before?"

"Go home and regain your lost time. Home…where you are supposed to be…the way you are supposed to be."

Unfortunately for Link, all four Zeldas had spoken identically. _So much for that idea,_ he thought. _But there's one more thing that might help…._

Without a word, the Hero of Time held out his gauntleted hand, curled his fingers together, and allowed the triangular brilliance of the Triforce of Courage to shine in all its glory.

The back of the third Zelda's hand responded in turn, revealing the Triforce of Wisdom. She held up her hand for all to see, as dignified yet humble as ever.

His strong suspicions confirmed, Link pulled out his boomerang and expertly tossed it at the four Zeldas, effectively striking the first, second, and fourth figures.

With each strike, a poof of smoke transformed each fake Zelda into its true form: White Duplighosts, natives of the Mushroom Kingdom that looked like cheesy bedsheet Halloween costumes with big black eyes and a tuft of red fabric sticking out like a ponytail. They gave each other a brief glance. One made an executive decision.

"Uh…let's scram!"

And that is precisely what they did.

Link and the others approached the remaining Princess Zelda, not even bothering to wonder why such strange creatures inhabited the Battlefields.

"Are you alright, Princess?" Link asked.

Zelda sighed with relief. "Yes. You've saved me once again, Link. I knew you would succeed, but that does not make me any less grateful."

Falco was about to point out that even he could have figured out which Zeldas were fake with half a brain, but at length he decided against it. There would be time for exchanging witticisms later.

"What were those things?" Nana wondered out loud.

"Beings of darkness." Zelda looked out across the gently flashing landscape. "No doubt all manner of unbecoming entities dwell in this wretched wasteland. Whether they be under Master Hand's command or not is of no consequence; we must be on our guard as we continue."

Link nodded in assent. "Let's go on, then."

With that, he led the escapees deeper into the Battlefields, oblivious to the decidedly duplicitous element playing on the corners of Zelda's smile.

* * *

Within moments of becoming swallowed up in the thick foliage of the Lost Woods, Metal Young Link had already vanished from sight. This left Roy, Samus, and Fox without a clue of where to go, and even Young Link often lost his way in the maze of crossing paths.

Standing still, the Kokiri boy listened closely for some kind of sign. Nothing.

"Well, that's just great." Fox meandered over to a stump and sat down, arms folded.

Roy looked sideways at his young friend. "Hear anything, Link?"

Young Link shook his head. "Not even Saria's ocarina. She's usually playing at this time of day…."

"Right." Fox kept looking between the three dark pathways that branched off in each direction. "Should we split up? One of us'll be bound to… _aaagh!_ "

The Arwing pilot found himself interrupted mid-speech by a small, grassy creature with bright orange eyes set into the shadows of its face. It happened to reside inside that particular tree stump and did not at all appreciate being sat on. Hence why it flung Fox off of its stump and began spitting Deku Nuts at the unwelcome guest.

Coming to the rescue, Young Link dived in front of the nut barrage and blocked it with his wooden shield, causing one to bounce back and nail the Deku Scrub in the face.

"Ouch!" It jumped out of the stump and tried to make a break for it, but Samus snagged it with her Grapple Beam and held it up like a freshly plucked turnip. "Alright, ya got me. Whaddaya want?"

"Tell us where the metal boy went." Roy allowed a few flames to ripple across his Binding Blade for effect.

The Deku Scrub stared wide-eyed at the weapon. "Ok, fine; sheesh! Just get that thing away from me. He went that way!" It pointed to the path on the left. "Now will you leave me alone?"

Samus responded by simply dropping the Deku Scrub onto the ground and leading them into the indicated passage. Fox brought up the rear, wincing with pain as he massaged his bruising head.

To their surprise, Metal Young Link was waiting for them, its emotionless metal eyes boring into the group from the center of the next four-way clearing. As soon as they entered, it turned and scurried down the middle path.

Wasting no time, they pursued it, though the extent of the chase was beginning to wear them out. The metal character led them down the right of the next clearing, then in a winding route every several seconds: Left, straight, left, left, straight, straight, right, straight, left….

At length, they came out onto a narrow wooden bridge between two cliffs that bordered a deep, misty crevice. Their quarry, however, was nowhere to be found.

Young Link recognized the place immediately. "This is the entrance to Kokiri Forest. But…why would it take us here…?"

Roy started across the rickety bridge. "No time to ask questions. Let us go on; one of your Kokiri friends is bound to see where it went."

And that is what they did, for no one seemed to have a better plan.

A rush of nostalgia hit Young Link as soon as he stepped into the village of his earliest memories. He hadn't been here for what seemed like an eternity. Everything—the fresh pine smell; the homes made from giant hollowed-out tree stumps, connected by more suspension bridges; the small streams branching out from the waterfall pool; the glowing fireflies that danced about like gravity-confused sparks. It all took the boy back to a time before worries, before he was any more than a simple Kokiri child, before he was caught up on a quest that would forever change his future, before Hyrule needed saving and villains like Ganondorf and Master Hand ran amuck. If only things could go back to the way they used to be….

"Link?"

He was brought back to earth by a Kokiri with curly red hair dressed almost exactly as Young Link, minus the weapons. It was Mido, the self-proclaimed leader of the village.

"Yeah, it's me," he said, hardly able to believe they were having this conversation. "We're looking for something that looks like me, only it's made of metal."

Mido merely shrugged, putting his hands on his hips. "Search me. I'm not even going to try to understand what kind of crazy quest you're on now with these…" He sized up Roy and the two space travelers. "…people. I can't believe Saria was right, though; she said you'd come and to tell you to meet her by the Great Deku Tree."

Young Link nodded. "Thanks."

They stood there for an awkward moment, Mido appearing to be unaware that he was still barring their path.

"Yep," Mido finally replied, stepping aside and having nothing better to say. He watched as the party wound their way down the dirt road to the Great Deku Tree's hollow, hoping with his usual paranoia that the so-called Hero of Time wouldn't bring as much trouble to his tranquil abode as he had in the past.

In a matter of minutes, after slicing through the usual thicket of Deku-Babas, Young Link ploughed his way into the ancient circular ring of trees that gave a wide, solemn berth to the revered Great Deku Tree.

Since it had been poisoned by Ganon, the wise tree did not immediately come across as "great" as it once was. The sapling that had grown out of the mulched remains of its predecessor had risen to a respectable 30 feet by this point, though Young Link knew its full grandeur to be much taller and broader. Nonetheless, there it stood, the bulges on the trunk forming a just-distinguishable face, the spirit of the forest guardian having passed down like a phoenix sprouting from its own ashes. And directly below its leafy branches stood Saria, her emerald hair complementing her glittering green eyes.

"Saria!" Young Link could not help but run and embrace his childhood friend, laughing like the child he sometimes forgot he was.

The girl smiled, returning his embrace, then placed both hands on his shoulders and looked him square in the eye. "Link. We've been waiting. You have no idea how much it means to us—to the Great Tree and to my people—that you've come back. And, of course," she said, sweeping her gaze across the other three travelers, "your friends are welcome here as well."

Fox, who felt just as out of place in this forest community as Samus and Roy, voiced his concern. "How did you know we were coming?"

Saria giggled. "The Forest has eyes and ears everywhere."

There was probably nothing else she could have said to make Fox feel more unsettled, so he nodded curtly and left the talking to Young Link.

"It's so good to be here," the boy said, though his excitement dampened when he remembered why they were there. "But we can't stay. We're after—"

"THERE IS NO NEED TO EXPLAIN, YOUNG HERO," came the slow, booming voice of the Great Deku Tree, which seriously startled all who had not before heard it. "THE METAL ONE HAS FLED…BUT THEY WILL BE BACK."

Young Link looked up at the strong, healthy tree that he once thought he'd never see again. "It's gone? But why did it lead us here if you wanted us to come?"

The tree's branches rustled thoughtfully. "BECAUSE ITS MASTER WANTS YOU TO HAVE EVERY CHANCE OF SUCCESS."

"Master Hand, wanting us to succeed?" Roy scratched his head. "That does not make any sense…."

"YOU MISUNDERSTAND ME, YOUNG WARRIOR…MASTER HAND IS NOT LIKE ANY FOE YOU HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED….HE IS A BEING BORNE OF LEGEND, ONE EVEN THE THREE GODDESSES CANNOT COMPREHEND….BUT THE WISEST SPIRITS OF HYRULE KNOW THIS: THAT HE DOES NOT SEEK MERE CONTROL OR POWER AS GANON SOUGHT….NO, MASTER HAND SEES OUR EXISTENCE AS A GAME, ONE WHERE HE MOVES HIS PIECES JUST TO SEE HOW WELL HIS CHALLENGERS CAN PLAY….AS TO HIS DEEPER MOTIVES, NONE CAN KNOW….

Young Link stood in silence for a moment, stunned by what the Great Deku Tree had told them. "You mean he wants us to come to him just so we can be participants in his twisted games, like the battle tournaments?"

"IT SEEMS SO…WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE PURPOSE OF YOUR BEING HERE….FIRST, TO WARN YOU OF THE COMPLEXITY OF YOUR QUEST…WHATEVER HAPPENS, IT WILL NOT BE AS SIMPLE AS RESCUING YOUR LOVED ONES….SECOND, YOU MUST KNOW THAT TO DEFEAT THIS ENEMY, THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS WILL HAVE TO BECOME ACCEPTABLE FOR A TIME…INDEED, MANY WHO ONCE FOUGHT ONE ANOTHER TO THE DEATH SHALL BE FORCED TO FIGHT TOGETHER FOR THEIR LIVES….

Samus sighed. She was not a huge fan of people who spoke in riddles. "What do you mean, 'the lesser of two evils'?"

But the Great Deku Tree continued as if the bounty hunter had said nothing; apparently, when he was on a prophetic rant, there was no interrupting him. "FINALLY…I FEEL TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION A MYSTERY….WHAT IS NOW OCCURRING AS WE SPEAK HAS NEVER BEFORE COME TO PASS…THAT IS, HEROES AND VILLAINS OF SEPARATE WORLDS CROSSING BOUNDARIES AND UNITING IN A SINGLE PURPOSE…THINGS ARE CHANGING, HEROES, AND THEY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME…THOUGH TO WHAT END, I CANNOT SAY…SO GOOD LUCK….

With that, the faint facial features on the Great Deku Tree's massive trunk became rigid, as if the wood had petrified on the spot. Then, behind him, several of the towering oak trees that ringed the clearing bent in opposite directions with stiff creaking sounds, opening a new pathway. Clearly the one the Great Tree wanted them to take.

"You should go." Saria sounded as if she didn't approve of the words coming out of her mouth. But that didn't make them untrue. "Your friends need you."

Young Link knew she was right, but he was loath to leave. He took Saria's hand. "Come with us."

But she shook her head regretfully. "I want to…but I cannot. As the Sage of the Forest, I must remain to preserve the life force of our woods." She gave Young Link another hug. "Be careful…and come back." The Kokiri girl watched sadly as the four heroes slowly wandered past the Great Deku Tree and disappeared into the fog that clouded the path beyond.

Looking back one last time, Young Link thought he saw the blue twinkle of Navi fluttering above Saria as she began playing a somber melody on her treasured ocarina. More than anything, he wished to hear the familiar "Hey, listen!" calling him back home.

That was the first time Link's younger incarnation consciously wondered why he was living in the same age as his adult self.

It was an excellent question.


	5. Chapter 5: Ghosts of the Past (1)

Chapter 5: Ghosts of the Past

* * *

 _ **V**_ ivian dreamt a dream.

She was floating through a field of dazzling flowers. Crazee Dayzees were skipping and dancing everywhere, whistling merrily.

Suddenly, she found herself in front of a beautiful chapel with ornate red doors, through which two happy newlyweds came out, arms linked.

Vivian's heart sank as she recognized the couple: Mario and Princess Peach. She knew she should be happy for them, but a tinge of longing clung onto her soul like a vicious parasite.

All she could do was watch as they strolled past her across the field of flowers, radiating a warmth and happiness that she would never know….

"Guuuuuuhhh!"

Vivian awoke with a start and found herself staring into the blank, drooling expression of her sister, Marilyn. Still absorbed in the depressing nature of her dream, she rubbed her eyes drowsily and yawned. The Shadow Sirens did not sleep lying down, for their bodies were composed of a watery purple substance that sank into the ground as if it couldn't decide whether to be a liquid or a shadow. Vivian, with her red-striped witch hat perpetually obscuring her eyes, had a rather slender figure, while Marilyn, with her yellow hat, rather resembled a giant grape.

"This is no time to be sleeping, Vivian." Beldam, the shortest Shadow Siren with a long protruding nose and a blue hat, was as bossy as ever—even after she and Marilyn had been reconciled with their sister, who had betrayed them to help Mario defeat the X-Nauts and the Shadow Queen. "There is a dark presence approaching…something much worse than the Wire Frames and other savage creatures in this place…."

By "this place," the croaking old witch referred to the Battlefields, where they had taken refuge after Rogueport had exiled them for their part in the catastrophic opening of the Thousand-Year Door. Despite their genuine effort to change, society did not tend to forgive mistakes as quickly as individuals.

Thus, at least for now, the luminescent Battlefields had become their new home. It was a rather drab lifestyle; although they had no real need to eat and could blend in almost perfectly with the environment, the general emptiness and the hauntingly overcast lavender skies that never gave any indication whether it was day or night left little, if anything, to live for. The world had cast them out, so all they had was each other.

"Ok," Vivian said. "So what should we do?"

"Be prepared," Beldam replied simply.

No sooner had she said this than four figures crested the nearest slope and steadily made their way toward them.

Vivian took in a deep, anxious breath as the strangers came into view: A swordsman; a woman in a beautiful dress; a blue anthropomorphic bird; and an Eskimo with a large wooden mallet. Not the typical company. Yet as they approached, the strange group looked just as taken aback by the sight of the Shadow Sirens.

She was prepared to sink into the shadows of the ground and slink away, but before she could do so, Beldam, ever the obtrusive one, made her move.

"Go no further, strangers, if you wish to survive."

Whether out of curiosity or genuine fear of Beldam, the newcomers came to a cautious halt. The bird and the swordsman drew their weapons.

"Who—or what—are you?" Some people were the naturally trusting, benefit-of-the-doubt type. Falco was not one of them.

Beldam ignored the question. "You have brought evil into our midst. Beings of shadow we may be, but we do not tolerate wanderers of malicious intent."

"Wait…" Nana, like her traveling companions, was quite confused. "Evil? We're about as malicious as a hibernating Polar Bear."

"It's true," Link said. "Our only quest is to stop the evil intentions of Master Hand and his followers."

"Indeed?" Beldam cackled. "Then why do you venture with a dark sorceress possessing the most fiendish of hearts?" She raised an accusing finger and pointed it at…

…Zelda.

"Me?" Zelda's eyes widened. "I bear the Triforce of Wisdom. What ill will do you find in my heart?"

Link moved protectively to her side. "This is Princess Zelda of Hyrule. She would be the last among us to yield to corruption. You are mistaken."

As much as she felt like she could trust the swordsman, the Eskimo, and the falcon, Vivian could not deny feeling the same aura as her sister. "If she's your friend," she said softly, "then there's something terribly wrong about her. I can feel it, too…something ancient…something familiar…almost like…."

"Guuuuuuh!"

Marilyn lunged unexpectedly at Zelda, enveloping her in a suffocating vice grip.

"Let her go!" Link brought his sword down against Marilyn, but before he could make contact, he found his sword arm frozen solid, encased in ice. Beldam's doing. Nana and Falco made to back him up, but Vivian reluctantly conjured a wall of fire, shielding Marilyn and Zelda from the rest of them.

For several dreadful seconds, Zelda was all but concealed within the strongest Shadow Siren's grasp; Marilyn emitted loud groans and sparks of electricity as she struggled to maintain her hold, squeezing the life out of her target. Zelda was powerless to resort to any form of magic with her arms pinned to her side and the Shadow Siren's natural magical resistance preventing even the smallest conjuration of Din's Fire. It seemed as if she would soon snap like a rotting tree branch…until….

Bolts of lightning shot out in every direction as Marilyn was violently cast off by a gust of shimmering purple energy, collapsing with the force of a baby whale. Where Zelda had been, a full-blown whirlwind of the said energy converged, pushing everyone back a considerable distance before—finally—settling.

Her eyes glowed a vicious scarlet. Her hair and dress rippled as if in the midst of a hurricane. And her expression—there was no other word for it: Wicked.

 _"Bow before your queen!"_ Whatever the source of that deep, soul-chilling voice, it certainly wasn't the Zelda any of them knew.

Though thoroughly shaken, Beldam somehow overcame the heavy aura of hellish terror. "You are our Shadow Queen no longer!" she cried. "How you still live, I know not; but we shall not bow to a dethroned demon!"

An unearthly laugh echoed from all sides, unsettling them further. Before Zelda's possessed figure, a disembodied hand composed of the same dark purple energy rose from the flashing ground of the Battlefields and swept Beldam aside like a fly. Link, his arm freed from the ice, brought his sword down with all his might onto the Floormaster (at least, that's what it looked like to him), severing the wrist from the hand—only for it to reform as easily as a trail of smoke.

The laugh only grew louder and more sardonic. _"Be grateful Master Hand does not desire your immediate extinction…It would be my pleasure, believe you me…._

Vivian was terrified, but she feared even more for her sisters' safety. "Then…why are you here?"

 _"To send a message: Even now you are all pawns in Master Hand's game. See to it that your loved ones share your fear…for when I reign at Master Hand's side, you will have every cause to wail and cower with them…."_

Once more, her penetrating laugh shook them to the core. Then, all at once, the Floormaster retreated into the surface, the scarlet in Zelda's eyes faded away, the inexplicable flurries subsided, and the darkened surroundings brightened to their original state (no one had even noticed this darkness until it had gone). Zelda's body crumpled onto the ground, motionless.

"Zelda!" Link was at her side in an instant, checking her vitals. She was alive. Heart racing like a Light Arrow, but alive.

Vivian, meanwhile, attended to her siblings, both of which were in considerable pain but fortunately had sustained no permanent injuries. Once she had ensured they would be all right, she turned to the others.

"Please…there's no time for us to mistrust one another. I don't know how bad this Master Hand is, but with _her_ on his side, everyone in the Nintendo World is in big trouble."

For once, Falco didn't argue back, but merely nodded, gesturing at Zelda's unconscious figure with his wing. "I guess that answers our 'malignant presence' problem.'"

* * *

Beanbean Castle was just as grand as Luigi remembered. Several lime-green towers and walls formed a protective shell around the town, behind which the royal palace rose much like Princess Peach's Castle, only with an overall greener and rounder appearance. Across the grassy plains through which they trod, Luigi could not help but anticipate with excitement visiting one of the few places where he actually felt like he'd made some kind of not-completely-negative difference. But at the height of his reveling, one word was spoken that completely transformed the mood.

"Smoke," Kirby observed, pointing with a stubby arm at the thick black streams billowing from the castle town.

"No…it cannot be!" Prince Peasley leapt onto his flying bean, which had been following them, and soared up to a better viewing height. After a matter of seconds, he sailed back down—without dismounting this time. "'Tis so….My beloved capital is under attack. Beanspeed, comrades!"

Their brisk walk suddenly became a full-out sprint as Luigi, Kirby, and Mr. Game & Watch chased after their guide, who appeared too worried to wait for them. They approached the main gate and found the drawbridge disconcertingly open and abandoned. Screams and scuffles sounded from within, prompting the Beanish prince to whisk into the walled town all the faster.

It was chaos. Beanish civilians scrambled into their homes or out of the city, carrying children and infants that seemed little more than magnified peas. And then the culprits showed themselves: Wire Frames, breaking down doors, chasing Beanish nobles, even tossing torches through windows. They had spread out like a belligerent purple virus infecting a plant cell, smashing everything in their path without any obvious objective.

"Engarde!" The prince sped forward and skewered a male Wire Frame in its gelatinous heart with his rapier, prompting his friends to follow suit. Each took off down a different street, purging the castle of enemies in their own way.

Mr. Game & Watch swung his turtle around his head like a ball-and-chain, clobbering Wire Frames left and right. Perceiving some helpless green figures trapped in the upper story windows of some of the taller buildings, he catapulted himself off his spontaneously contrived black trampoline, coming to rest on the windowsills of the distressed civilians. Time and time again, he would reassure them that he was there to help, instruct them to hang on, and use his parachute to float them down to safety.

Kirby tripped up the magenta monsters by sliding across the ground. Once in a while, he latched onto one and hurled it behind him into a wall. Then, realizing there was a veritable throng of them crowding the streets, he inhaled a pile of rubble, transformed into Rock Kirby, ballooned up to a roof, gave himself a running start, and more or less became an _Indiana Jones_ caliber boulder. He rolled through the streets, crushing dozens of Wire Frames and clearing a path around the palace. Wire Frame limbs and heads shattered like cheap plastic toys hit with a sledge hammer.

Luigi ran with his fists flailing in front of him, knocking down and trampling his foes and occasionally jumping and kicking the Wire Frames in the face (if the off-centered circle symbol can be construed as a "face"). At length, he realized the frequency of invaders became thicker as he drew nearer to the palace. And then it occurred to him: Queen Bean.

Throwing caution to the wind, he propelled himself with his legendary jumping prowess onto the roof of a Beanish dwelling, took stock of the palace's direction, and ran across the roofs toward the besieged building. Prince Peasley soon joined him on his flying bean, and together they quickly covered the distance between them and the elaborate stairway leading up to the entrance.

In one united motion, Luigi launched himself sideways as the fiery Green Missile, and Peasley vaulted off his bean and jumped across the heads of the Wire Frames guarding the entrance, crashing through the glimmering emerald doors into the red-carpeted chamber beyond.

The palace was crawling with Wire Frames, but at least here and there clusters of Beanish guards contended with the tall intruders. Fighting their way across the hall, they soon reached the throne room, but just before they went through the doors, a tremendous roar sounded from within. To Luigi's surprise, Peasley grinned.

"I think Mother's in a bad mood."

Luigi, recalling a terrifying confrontation he and Mario had experienced in the presence of Queen Bean's wrath, found his knees trembling involuntarily. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Good for us. Bad for them."

As if on cue, a myriad of Wire Frames burst out of the doors in front of them like paper cranes in a monsoon, many of them in multiple pieces. Peasley led the way in to where his huge, currently vicious mother was ripping off the heads of the last two Wire Frames in the room, not unlike an enraged Hulk.

"You know how mothers are," Peasley commented. "Always so protective of their young."

Within a matter of seconds, however, the pulsing, heavy-breathing queen was back to her still-enormous self. She gave Prince Peasley a maternal smile, the bejeweled crown sitting disproportionately small on her head between her two tufts of curly violet hair.

"Peasley. Welcome home. Luigi. What a surprise! Thank you for coming to our aid."

There was an awkward moment of silence. Finally, his heart rate beginning to slow down, Luigi said, "Uh…shouldn't we a-go stop the rest of them?"

In another uncanny moment of theatrical perfection, Kirby walked pleasantly into the throne room and belched with the volume of an adolescent grizzly bear using a megaphone.

"All done," he said, as if the 100 Wire Frames he'd just swallowed had been nothing more than a respectable-sized meal.

With the Wire Frames gone, Queen Bean arranged for a gathering of all who lived within the vicinity of the palace to publicly recognize the visitors' heroic efforts. The ceremony took place on the semicircular staircase leading into the palace.

"The Beanbean Kingdom owes you a great debt," she boomed, presenting each with golden Beans of Valor to the sound of a thunderous applause by the Beanish people. She found a place to pin them on all except Mr. Game & Watch, who consented to just stash it away in his two-dimensional bucket. Kirby, whose pin had been attached to his head, seemed to have already lost it somewhere within his bottomless stomach.

Prince Peasley, who had added his pin to a large sash covered in dozens of other identical ones, gave a merry laugh. "Truer friends have never been had. I know not what we should have done without your help."

He shook hands with Luigi, who privately felt that between the prince and the queen, they would have, in fact, gotten along quite well without his help. But he went along with it.

"It's a-good to be back!"

After what seemed like hours of waving and shaking hands and kissing Beanish Babies, they finally retreated into the throne room where Luigi fully informed the queen on the nature of their quest.

"Master Hand?" Queen Bean did not recognize the name, mostly because the Beanbean Kingdom had not as yet had any dealings with him. But she could tell it was a serious issue. "Well, whatever resources we have are yours. And what's more, my son shall accompany you on your journey!"

Prince Peasley attempted to act displeased and failed. "Are you sure, Mother?"

She nodded. "Of course. The world needs you. It's the least we can do. Take the Bean Pods and be safe!"

The prince unsheathed his rapier and pointed it at the ceiling. "On to adventure!"

Everyone cheered. Except Mr. Game & Watch, who had to resist the impulse to smash the smirk off of Prince Peasley's face with his hammer right then and there.

* * *

It appeared to be late afternoon on this planet. Captain Falcon couldn't really tell for sure, to be honest, because the sky, which differed little from most of the habitable planets he'd visited, was thickly overcast, threatening rain.

He, the two villains, and the five monkeys had come out of Chet Rippo's portal through an ancient-looking stone arch hidden behind an alcove of moss-covered boulders on one side and a hilly slope on the other. Stepping out of the rocky cranny, he observed a deep green lake extending as far as he could see along a range of hills. The cool breeze blowing across the water and the fresh scent of damp greenery penetrated beneath his visor.

It was beautiful, but it certainly wasn't the Battlefields.

At length, the group's initial stupefaction wore off and they began to consider the implications of what had happened.

"That dirty cheat," Bowser growled. "When I get my claws on his fat little throat…"

"The platypus is not worth my time." Ganondorf, arms folded impatiently, beheld that in the opposite direction of the lake, city rooftops poked out from behind a nearby cluster of low knolls. "Kong is the only one I need to access Master Hand. There are plenty of heads that shall roll if I do not hear a swift solution to all of your simian stupidity."

Tiny Kong gave the Gerudo an unabashedly dirty look. "Um… _excuse_ me? If it weren't for you and the turtle, we wouldn't even be in this situation!" The other Kongs gave grunts of assent and appeared to be getting riled up.

"Chill out." Captain Falcon could see that this would escalate fast without intervention. "I think I know where we are: It's a place called Corneria. I recognize it as one of the battle stages from Master Hand's last tournament. The Falcon Flyer isn't too far from this system; I'll call it over and we can be out of here in a couple hours." He put a hand up to the side of his helmet and pressed a button, signaling the vessel to come.

Chunky Kong plopped onto the ground contentedly, causing a small rockslide farther up the hill. "So…we can just stay here?"

But the bounty hunter shook his head. "The Falcon has a built-in intergalactic navigation system, but when I call it from a long distance, it zones in on the nearest major center of civilization and waits there. And that means…" He pointed over Ganondorf's head at the half-hidden rooftops. "We're goin' downtown."

As the high-speed racer anticipated, their new clear objective had placated the group's conflicting motives and personalities—at least temporarily. In fact, the prospect of being off this foreign planet in an hour or two so motivated them as to accelerate their pace so that they reached the top of the last hill overlooking Corneria City in less than half an hour.

It was huge and even more futuristic than the Captain had expected. Towering silver buildings lined the smooth white streets, which were empty apart from a few dotted pedestrians. This was because Corneria City had virtually outgrown the primitiveness of land travel; hovering shuttle buses, commercial aircrafts, and personal flying vessels congested the sky and the tight spaces between buildings, going about their business like a colony of ants in an invisible anthill. Even from a distance, the tumultuous commotion could be heard, echoing up the hill as if the sound waves had already reverberated off of several walls before reaching their ears.

"Now what?" DK finally said, summing up most of their present thoughts.

"Stay where you are!"

But it wasn't any of their party who had spoken. The electronic voice resounded from above their heads as two Arwings landed on either side of them, stirring the air into a deafening flurry. The Kongs, largely unaccustomed to such alien technology (except for Donkey Kong in his dealings with the Smash Tournaments), covered their ears in fright, hoping they weren't about to die in a plasmatic explosion.

Instead, the cockpits opened and two very different pilots stepped down. One appeared to be a short, humanoid frog with big bulging eyes, an endearingly harmless expression, and a full yellow jumpsuit. The other was a skinny, stern-looking ape dressed in an official-looking black jumpsuit and a crop of white fur on top of his head that matched his eyebrows. The latter was the one who had just spoken.

"Officer Dash Bowman of the Cornerian Fleet," he said. "This is a restricted area—Cornerian civilians and personnel only. Please state your names and business. You should know we are authorized to arrest trespassers."

Before Ganondorf or Bowser could make threatening outbursts, the frog tried to defuse the tension. "Don't worry, guys, Dash always gets like this when he's on duty, but he's really a big goofball." Dash gave his companion a hard look, but also, significantly, did not deny the claim. The cheerful frog continued in his almost obnoxiously high voice, offering his hand to Captain Falcon. "I'm Slippy, by the way. Slippy Toad. Are you guys lost or somethin'? We don't get a lot of visitors here besides other dignitaries from the Lyatt System. None of you look like you're from around here, though."

Captain Falcon took Slippy's hand with a grin, relieved to have at least one friendly reception. "You could say that. We went through a portal that took us a long ways from where we were headed. You can call me Captain Falcon." He proceeded to introduce the rest of them, the villains too disgruntled to interrupt, the Kongs still taking in the Arwings' magnificence like deer caught in headlights.

At the sound of a few of their names, something clicked in Slippy's head. "Wait…I thought I recognized some of you. The Smash Tournaments, right? We get the broadcast every time it happens. Fox and Falco are pretty tough, huh?" No one said anything. Those among them who had been defeated by Fox or Falco in the past didn't want to bring it up, and those who had defeated one of them thought it best to appear indifferent.

Dash decided it was time to cut in. "Alright, enough chit-chat. Unless you can give me a good reason not to boot you off our planet, I'm going to have to call in the deportation shuttle."

"Hold it," Captain Falcon said. "I've got my own Flyer comin' in, and we weren't planning on sticking around anyway. We've got places to go and…" He wasn't sure how to describe their current mission, and even if he could, doubted whether it would be a good idea to share their mixed motives. "…stuff to do."

The Cornerian pilot considered this for a moment. "Very well. But I'm putting the General on to obtain his approval." He took out a small handheld communicator and dialed a code into the touch screen. After about a minute, a full-color hologram screen projected in front of them, and a portrait-sized video feed appeared, displaying a weathered-looking hound dog garbed in a red, fully decorated military uniform complete with a cap and golden tassels.

"Officer Bowman, what's the situation?"

"General Pepper, sir." Dash explained how they had found the eight strangers and Captain Falcon's proposal to use his Falcon Flyer to leave. Slippy then added how he knew some of them from the Smash Tournaments.

"I see." The old general coughed and leaned in toward the screen, squinting to see the newcomers more clearly. "I would have had no problem allowing you all to stay and learning about your world and objectives. Given that you already intend to leave, however, we shall provide you with escorts to see you off safely. What is your destination, may I ask?"

"Smash Planet," Captain Falcon responded, being the only one among them who was aware of the galaxies beyond the Nintendo mainland.

"Very well. Slippy, Dash, accompany them as far as the outer hemisphere and ensure they have the means to properly navigate to their homeland. When you return, report to base for debriefing." His expression subtly shifted into what could almost be feasibly construed as a smile, his tired eyes twinkling. "Good luck, friends. General Pepper, out."

To Captain Falcon's surprise, as he ended the transmission, Dash did not seem disappointed in being denied the opportunity to arrest them. On the contrary, a fire had kindled in his eyes that gave away his excitement in having at least a little action to look forward to.

As if it had been waiting for General Pepper's image to dissolve, the Falcon Flyer came down from the sky, reversing its thrusters to slow its descent. The sleek, gold, beak-like front with its neon green "eye slit" windows and its perfectly aerodynamic blue wings and tail won even the tech-savvy Cornerians' admiration.

Trying not to look smug, the F-Zero racer remote-activated the hatch to open and began to climb into his precious spacecraft. He turned to the others. "Come on!" he called, forgetting how traumatic the idea of space travel must be to a family of flightless monkeys. Bowser and Ganondorf retained their impatient expressions as they boarded; if they felt any trepidation about this unfamiliar mode of travel, they did not show it.

Within ten minutes, everyone was on board and secure in their seats, and from the tinted windows at the front, Captain Falcon gave the thumbs-up to Slippy and Dash and steered the Falcon Flyer into the overcast sky, the two Arwing pilots flanking him on either side.

Inside the Flyer, silence prevailed except for Lanky Kong's occasional exclamations of "Woo-hoo!" as Captain Falcon made a course correction to match the Flyer's digital navigator with their current route—as well as Chunky's quiet whimpering.

Beside Captain Falcon in the co-pilot's seat, Diddy Kong admired the aerial view of the Cornerian landscape as it grew smaller and smaller below them. Soon, however, they became enveloped in the clouds and the planet's surface disappeared from sight. Though this was much different from his rocket-barrel jetpack or racing Wizpig in his small one-man plane, he couldn't help but relish the exhilarating feeling of speeding through the air. He could even watch a flock of birds heading towards them….

Except they were definitely not birds.

Diddy let out a cry and shook Captain Falcon's shoulder beside him, pointing out the window. "What are those?!"

The Captain glanced out at the approaching monsters and swore loudly. He pushed up a handle that caused them to accelerate and spoke into the Falcon Flyer's electronic communicator. "Dash, Slippy, are you seeing this?"

Slippy's crackly radio voice came back: "Oh no. Aparoids! But they're supposed to be extinct…."

"Maintain your present course, Captain," Dash said. "We'll take care of this nuisance."

Breaking off from the Falcon, the two Arwings veered right and began firing blue laser bursts at the distant silhouetted creatures. A few stray red beams fired back, but within a minute or two, the experienced dogfighters had effectively disposed of the clustered enemies.

Slippy breathed out in relief, but then the projected image of Peppy Hare—retired Star Fox pilot and now the Fleet's strategic commander—came up on his and Dash's screens.

"Don't count your chickens yet," the rabbit said grimly, adjusting his tiny glasses. "Our scanners indicate you've got a swarm of bogies comin' up. We're dispatching a team as we speak, but you're on your own for a few minutes at least. Be careful." With that, his image disappeared.

"Hey," Slippy's voice sounded from within the Falcon. "I don't know how or why, but we've got a colony of alien bugs closing in on us. We'll do the best we can to hold them off, but does your Flyer have weapon capabilities?"

"Unfortunately not," Captain Falcon said, making a mental note to see that some modifications were made to the Falcon Flyer after this was all over. "But if I level her out, some of us can climb onto the hull and give you a hand."

Slippy looked down at the dozens of approaching space insects and gulped. "We'll take whatever help we can get. Whatever you do, though, don't let them infect you…."

"Uh…" Donkey Kong's hair rippled like grass as a circular hatch opened from the roof of the center of the craft. "You've got guns for us, right?"

"Nope." With the push of a button, a steel ladder descended from the hatch, inviting the seven non-pilots to join the fight.

Bowser laughed as he followed Ganondorf up the hatch. "This should be fun." The latter said nothing, but smirked a little as he ascended to destroy whatever and whoever dared to impede him from his objective.

Tiny shrugged. "We've faced worse." She was followed by Diddy, Lanky, DK, and finally—after briefly considering the idea of staying inside—Chunky.

Outside, it was like some kind of apocalyptic alien invasion. A veritable wave of Aparoids converged from below, drawn to the Falcon like moths to a lantern. The ship's defenders braced themselves for battle, each in their own way. And then it began.

The first eager Aparoid sped forward and hit Bowser full in the face, intent on injecting the Koopa with its parasitic venom. Few fates would be worse than being enslaved to the colony's insidious hive mind.

Though unaware of these details, Bowser did know that he did not appreciate a flying purple and green monster the size of his Clown Car poking at his face. With a roar, he sank his teeth into the creature and tore its bulbous-eyed head clean off, roughly throwing its dead carcass off the Falcon and awaiting more.

A cluster of Aparoids sped toward the Kongs. DK and Chunky were able to contend physically with the beasts, wrestling with and ripping them apart, but the other three found they had better resort to a different approach. Thus, a barrage of explosive oranges rained down from the Flyer, obliterating many Aparoids before they could even reach eye level. Unfortunately, this rather messy technique caused stray insect body parts and fluorescent green Aparoid blood to shoot off in every direction, splattering everyone and everything in the vicinity.

Ganondorf thought briefly about how these bloodthirsty beasts might make for profitable servants under his command sometime in the future. But for now, they were the enemy. Concentrating a stream of dark magic into his hands, he generated an electrified sphere of white energy and projected it into an oncoming line of Aparoids. Not only did the pulsing ball disintegrate the first one, but it persevered through several more behind it, scattering those lucky enough not to be in its direct path.

Meanwhile, Captain Falcon steered his vessel as steadily as possible to avoid throwing his passengers off the top while still ascending toward the outer edge of Corneria's atmosphere. He did occasionally swerve slightly to the left or right to prevent oncoming Aparoids from colliding with the windows and to give Slippy and Dash a better shot at particularly dense groups of invaders.

Suddenly, an exceptionally bold Aparoid smacked into the window nearest to the Captain like a bug on a windshield—only this one didn't die. He gave a yell as from outside, its sinewy wings flickered in anticipation, its gruesome pincers opened and closed, and its antennae probed the window for a way to reach its prey.

Captain Falcon was about to give Slippy permission to shoot the Aparoid off his window when a hairy arm reach down and pulled it away, and a subsequent squelching sound told him that DK had just squished the bug's head like a pomegranate.

Slippy and Dash circled about the Falcon Flyer, taking out as many Aparoids as they could. Occasionally a couple would latch onto their wings, which merely required a barrel roll or two to shake them off.

As the chaos progress, Bowser found his traditional biting, clawing, and char-boiling inadequate to the numerous swarm. _I was saving this for the next Mario Kart Grand Prix,_ he thought, taking a miniature spiky shell in hand, _but if I let Master Hand have his way, I'd be willing to bet that tournament will never happen."_

He breathed a small ember of flame onto the shell, activating its rather special function. Like an expandable water toy, the shell quickly enlarged to well over the size of Bowser's own shell, which he chucked over the edge of the Flyer, giving it a nice spin.

A torrent of Aparoids soaring up like a superheated flare found themselves confronting a giant Bowser shell. As it descended, the shell bounced off the unfortunate insects like a pinball, crushing their exoskeletons and everything inside them.

But despite all their valiant efforts, the Aparoids kept coming in greater numbers than before, some of them grouping themselves around huge beasts that resembled radioactive butterflies.

"There's too many!" Slippy cried.

 _He's right._ Captain Falcon looked ahead. _We're still a long ways from leaving the atmosphere. And even then, they might pursue us into space…._

His attention was drawn to a queerly shaped cloud. It was a perfect circle, resembling a planet with wispy continents trailing inside. And as he peered closer, he saw an even stranger but much smaller ring composed of blue triangular prisms. It was similar to what any member of Star Fox would have recognized as a health ring—but even they would be perplexed by the fact that it was filled with a translucent screen of blue light.

Captain Falcon frowned. It looked just like the portal that had landed them here in the first place….

The onslaught continued, but now a formation of Arwings had joined the fight. They would eventually be able to contain the Aparoids, but in a moment of decision, the Captain concluded that they needed to get out of there now, or else risk the lives of everyone exposed atop the Falcon.

He set the Falcon Flyer on autopilot with a course charted directly to the blue ring and stumbled over to the open hatch.

"Get in. Now!"

They got in—some more reluctantly than others. But no matter the level of pride harbored by some, none of them thought it wise to ignore the pilot who held all of their lives in his hands.

"Buckle up!" he said as they accelerated into the portal and left a chaotic Corneria behind, some holding onto their seats for dear life.


	6. Chapter 5: Ghosts of the Past (2)

The Twilight Forest beyond the Great Deku Tree's path was strange and unfamiliar to Young Link. The dense but vivacious Kokiri Forest had been replaced by a labyrinth of oppressive black woods that seemed virtually lifeless with bare, prickly branches and an eerie silence broken only by the cawing of despondent crows. The last scarlet rays of sunlight were disappearing rapidly below the horizon, plunging them into a sudden and almost unnatural darkness with a bone-chilling wind.

Such was the world into which the bounty hunters and swordsmen ventured, winding their way along a narrow path shrouded by spindly branches that curled above them like monstrous claws. To make matters worse, there was absolutely no sign of Metal Young Link's trail.

"It got away," Roy said regretfully.

"Yeah…." Young Link's mind was still lost in the questions that had arisen from their visit with the Great Deku Tree. "The Great Tree said 'they will be back.' But I couldn't tell if he meant just the one we were after, or…something else…."

"Doesn't matter now." Fox led them along the trail, he and Samus using their night vision lenses to their full advantage. "We've already come this far, so the only thing for it is to make our way to Master Hand's Room like his letter demanded."

No one responded, but the silence was mutually understood as unspoken assent. They wound their way through the forest as night took full hold upon them, necessitating the activation of Samus's suit-powered fluorescent light to illuminate the trail. Fortunately, there were no forks or side trails, for it did not take long for them to lose all sense of direction. Thus, they were forced to rely on the narrow path to take them where they needed to go: west.

Fox came to a halt as he noticed a still figure masked among the trees to the right. Its hazy details became clear as he focused on it, blaster drawn. But what he saw made no sense.

 _No…it can't be…._

Feeling hazy and oddly aloof from his traveling companions, he went off into the trees without warning.

"Hey, wait!" Roy and the others made after their straying friend, wary in case he'd spotted Metal Young Link. Or worse.

Fox grew lightheaded as the personage—a fox dressed much like him but with sunglasses—turned and dashed off into the depths of the Forest, leaving him no choice but to follow.

"Dad!"

Even though his rational self was screaming that this couldn't really be his father, that his father had been murdered by Andross ages ago, still he could not help but cling to the mad hope that this might be real.

How long the pursuit continued, he couldn't say. Nothing mattered but reaching his father. The blurred shapes around him were but obstacles impeding him from reaching his goal.

 _Follow me, Fox._

Whether the voice was real or in his head, Fox did not give it a second thought. Last time he'd heard that voice speaking those words, he'd been saved from the exploding remains of Andross's underground lair on the planet Venom. He followed James McCloud until they came out into an enormous clearing, at which point his father turned around to face him.

 _Trust your instincts._

Fox wanted to rush forward to embrace him but found himself unable to move, as if the muscles in his limbs had been unplugged from the command center of his brain.

"Is it really you?" he stammered, oblivious to Roy, Young Link, and Samus, who had just entered the clearing themselves.

 _Don't ever give up, my son!_

Before Fox could reply, the apparition vanished like dust before the wind.

Samus put a hand on his shoulder. "You all right, McCloud?"

He said nothing, still fixated on that spot where his father had been just seconds before.

"Two questions," Roy said, taking in the ominous sight before them. "First: What are you staring at? There is nothing there. And second: Where are we?"

Still too shaken up to retort that he had really seen his father, Fox lifted his eyes to see beyond and blanched.

It seemed like a sight straight out of a horror film. For a few hundred yards, the dead ground was speckled with gravestones of every shape and size. In this rare area deep within the Twilight Forest where the sky was actually visible, dark indigo clouds swirled above threateningly. In fact, within seconds, the dry landscape became the receptor of a torrential downpour, accompanied with the frequent booms and bolts of thunder and lightning that are requisite of such an environment.

Most striking of all, at the far end of the graveyard loomed a huge moss-green mansion, several bright yellow squares peering out from four or five stories of windows. With the appropriately antiquated front doors, from a distance the building had the look of a monstrous face, beckoning them forward like a flesh-eating Cyclops inviting seafarers into his cave.

Young Link gulped. This place reminded him too much of the graveyard in Kakariko Village. "I…uh…don't think we should stay here."

"Don't be ridiculous." Samus plowed ahead, completely ignoring the tombstones on either side. The others warily followed suit. "We need somewhere dry to sleep. Besides…" She brushed away a few bats that had been drawn to her illuminated outfit like fruit flies to a mango. "Those who live here have such a big house, I doubt they would mind taking in a few guests for the night." Though the bounty hunter was not usually much for words, she was not afraid to speak up when she felt a course correction was necessary. And, it must be said, Samus had confronted far more frightening situations than a gloomy old estate.

It wasn't that Roy and Young Link were scared; rather, they had a keener intuition than the space travelers when it came to evaluating the prudence of trespassing on a stranger's property—particularly a property such as this. Nevertheless, they followed dutifully behind, unsheathing their swords and trying not to jump at every rat and crow that happened to pop out from behind a grave.

Upon stepping onto the stone entryway, the front doors opened of their own volition (of course) to receive the manor's visitors. To Samus and Fox (who had at last regained his senses), this was no different than the thousands of automatic doors they were accustomed to; but to the other two, self-opening doors were certainly not a good omen. They grew tenser as they stepped across the threshold into the brilliantly lit entrance hall within.

"Hello?" Roy called, his voice echoing off the elegantly patterned walls; the majestic red carpet; the ornate winding staircase; the oddly dust-free, shining suits of armor; and the intricate mahogany doors leading off in several directions. For some reason, the brilliantly lit chandelier that resembled a giant suspended birthday cake did not feel warm or welcoming; in fact, there was a bitter chill as they stood there in the foreboding silence—a silence that was broken by the slamming of the front doors behind them.

"It's stuck!" Young Link pulled with all his might on the old brass handles, but the house appeared to have locked them inside. "What do we do now?"

As if it had been waiting to answer, a door along the right wall creaked open, exposing more stairs that spiraled downward.

They tried yelling for a while more without the slightest response. It also soon became apparent that all the doors were locked save the open one that awaited them. Finally, all other options exhausted, Samus warmed up her arm cannon and led them through the doorway down the stone spiral staircase.

To her bewilderment, the steps corkscrewed for an incredibly long time. Soon they were far below the mansion's foundations, surely at least a quarter mile underground. The rough stone walls seemed to be closing in on them like some sort of medieval death trap. If it weren't for the luminescence of her suit and Roy's fiery Binding Blade, they would have been engulfed in an almost tangible darkness.

By the time they reached the cryptic vault at the bottom, the depth and tight quarters were actually making it more difficult to breathe. The ancient, acrid air didn't help, either. A thick iron hatch stood ajar, a column of light escaping through the aperture as if it were filled with treasure. Which, Samus felt fairly certain, it was not.

Cautiously, she pushed open the heavy door to reveal another bright, candlelit chamber. It was a long hallway with checkerboard tiling and perfect rows of gold-framed portraits lining each wall.

Although unperturbed by dark places, what did bother Samus was the utter emptiness—particularly when all the rooms appeared to be lit. Even she began to sense something deeply wrong about this place.

The quartet of heroes proceeded tentatively down the hall, ready for an ambush at any moment. Instead, they walked across the corridor without incident, gazing curiously at the strange individuals portrayed in each frame. Among them were a baby; an artist; a pool player; a pianist; a fortune teller; a butler; a granny; a strongman; and even a dog. But what struck Samus as bizarre were their bodies. Rather than possessing normal flesh, each individual appeared to be composed of a translucent, ghostly matter featuring neon blues, greens, and pinks. Each displayed his or her own personality like a typically diverse family, yet Samus could not help but suspect a hidden balefulness beneath those pupil-less eyes.

At length, they reached the far end of the hallway. The dead end, for some reason, did not surprise Samus one bit, what with the unsettling impression the mansion had given her thus far. Two flickering golden candelabra illuminated the largest portrait of all, which stretched almost from floor to ceiling and, unlike the others, had a varnished redwood frame bordering a very different picture.

Two young boys with oblong heads and small tufts of hair stood next to each other with hands held, grinning toothily and sporting glasses with swirling lenses. One pair was circular while the other was diamond-shaped. There was nothing ghostly about them; in fact, in the background, Samus recognized the very mansion they were currently underneath, except it looked almost new and much more inviting under a bright blue sky.

Roy felt around the edge of the portrait, searching for some kind of hidden door that would lead them out. Nothing.

"There is no way out."

Young Link frowned, staring at the boy with the circular glasses. "There's something familiar about that guy. I feel like I've seen him somewhere…."

A devious cackle echoed from no apparent source. Near the corners of the portrait, four plate-sized pictures materialized onto the wall. Samus took one look at the images and felt like her head was spinning.

It was them. The faces of Fox, Roy, Young Link, and Samus (her helmet, at least) stared blankly back at their living selves. Then, as if that weren't creepy enough, the portraits detached themselves from the wall and wobbled towards them in an otherworldly dance.

Instinctively, Samus blasted the floating flames with her arm cannon, enveloping them in a sphere of blue laser. And when the light subsided…

An actual ghost. A monstrous, luminescent white Boo with a huge ruby fixed on its head like a crown, a lolling purple tongue, and malicious red eyes glowing from its shadowed brow. All the candles in the hallway had blown out, making the Boo pulse in the darkness like a radioactive balloon.

The ghost cackled again. _"Welcome to our mansion, heroes. I am King of the Boos, and I hope you enjoy your stay…your_ permanent _stay!"_

The four frames reappeared, only now they were empty. And Samus had a dreadful suspicion that she knew what they were about to be filled with.

"Let's get out of here."

A chorus of cackling ensued as dozens upon dozens of smaller (but equally sinister) Boos faded into sight throughout the corridor, thoroughly barring the only exit.

Samus fired a missile into the white masses, but her heart sank as it traveled straight through the hoard of poltergeists as if the hall were empty, exploding harmlessly against the door to the vault. Or, as it presently seemed, the door to their crypt.

The others made similar efforts—Fox firing his laser, Roy swinging his flaming sword, and Young Link tossing his boomerang across the room—but to no avail. Samus attempted to run through the Boos herself only to be violently rejected by an invisible force.

 _"Let our new master's will be done!"_

The frames became silver vortices, slowly drawing their four trapped targets into a two-dimensional prison….

A bright yellow beam penetrated from the opposite end, taking the Boos by surprise—King Boo included. Then, a deafening and unmistakable vacuuming noise roared, its source sucking nearby Boos out of existence. Most of the ghouls panicked and fled through the walls, but those unfortunate enough to be caught in the middle of the paranormal pandemonium soon found themselves trapped within the Poltergust 3000.

King Boo made straight for the intruder, howling with rage. But a direct beam from the short man's flashlight blinded him, forcing him to retreat by fading away.

 _"This isn't over, Ghost Hunter…."_

As the last of the Boos disappeared, Professor E. Gadd hobbled over to the dumbstruck group, chuckling. He was the very likeness of the photo behind them, except much older; the tuft of hair on his otherwise bald head had become white with age.

"Well, fellas, there's a whole bunch of ghost puns I could make right now, but I think you youngsters've been through enough horror for one night. Now…let's get back to the lab."

* * *

At last, they had reached where the Icicle Mountains became the rocky mountainside of the Kanto Region. None were more grateful than Red to finally be free of the snow and the cold, though there was yet a difficult path ahead. Having just descended below the snow line, the small party was still high enough to enjoy a spectacular view of a barren but beautiful landscape. The Icicle Mountains' dark rocks transitioned into red cliff faces and boulders and canyons, which spread below them for several miles until they became the flat steppes which would lead them back to Saffron City. In fact, the blurred shadows far beyond indicated they would be there in a couple days' journey. There was no trail, however, so they navigated the treacherous natural quarries with circumspection.

Pichu, who had spent enough time in his Pokéball to recover from the devastating Zapdos attack, basked happily in the sun's warm light. He, like Jigglypuff, Red, and Popo, had initially been discouraged by the disastrous tangent forced upon them by the storm, but now, with Yoshi beside them and the knowledge that they weren't alone in their quest, he felt a renewed desire to rescue Pikachu as soon as possible.

Once they had had time to rest in Freezy Cavern from the trauma of Metal DK's assault, Yoshi explained to the rest how he had come to be there. He, like all Yoshis, preferred the Yoshi tongue, but was also capable of human speech when the need arose. He described how he had been in Toad Town when the news went out that not only had Princess Peach and Mario been kidnapped, but Luigi had set off to free them from Master Hand. Somewhat disappointed that the tall plumber had neglected to recruit his help (probably because he forgot), Yoshi determined to venture out himself and catch up with him.

However, upon reaching Subcon, where Mr. Game & Watch had relocated, Yoshi could not help but notice the frighteningly large thunderstorm gathering in the west. He would have gone in the opposite direction had he not spotted, ever so briefly, the brilliant flash of Zapdos's Thunder and the tiny dot of the Squirtle balloon falling behind the frozen mountain range. Thus, he decided his immediate priority was to find and aid the grounded travelers. And the rest—his impeccable intervention against Metal Donkey Kong—was history.

And so they went on, trekking down the mountainside and bonding with one another. Though Red was the only one who understood his Pokémon, he was able to translate their words for Popo and Yoshi (although the Pokémon's attitudes needed no translation). Together, the Kanto Region natives elaborated on the beauties and wonders of their homeland: the Veridian Forest; Cerulean Cave; Cimarron Island (which was part of a large saltwater lake); the diverse species found in the Safari Zone; the towering department store of Celadon City; the prestigious Pokémon League on Indigo Plateau.

At one point, Popo decided to pry a little. "So, Red, why do you catch and train Pokémon? It sounds like you don't need the money."

Red nodded. "It's great being the Champion and all, too, but I've always had it as my goal to catch all the Pokémon. My dad left a legacy as the greatest Pokémon Trainer in the world; I never really knew him, so I guess I feel like I have to honor that legacy the best I can."

"Do you ever get lonely without your family?"

"Sometimes. I visit my mom in Pallet Town a lot, of course; but it would be a lot worse without my Pokémon family by my side." He smiled at Pichu and Jigglypuff, who beamed in return.

Popo nodded. "I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my sister. We've never been apart for this long…ever." They could tell he was trying to hold himself together, but based on the slightly tremulous edge to his voice, the emotional turmoil within must have been considerable.

"Family has always come first in my tribe," Yoshi said, hopping down a large boulder and landing softly on his red shoes. "Back on Yoshi's Island, everything we do is for the protection and well-being of each other. Even when we helped Mario escape from Kamek and Bowser as a baby, our greatest concern was the threat against our peaceful community. And since then, Mario and his people have become part of our family anyways."

They reached a flat plateau and decided to rest. Though no one wanted to admit it, their rigorous journey through the mountains had taken a great toll on them all. Everyone—particularly Popo, who had removed her hood and gloves but for some reason left the rest of his parka on—was sticky with sweat.

The travelers took turns drinking from Popo's water canteen and Red's water bottle, some taking a seat on the rocks while Red reclined on the ground with his hat off and his hands behind his head, enjoying the view (as well as a short nap) with his Pokémon. The air was still rather chilly, but the exertions of their climb combined with the warm afternoon sun made it seem like an entire season had gone by in the last hour.

Once they felt sufficiently rejuvenated, the Smashers plowed on, becoming less talkative despite the break lessening their exhaustion.

Soon they came across a particularly narrow ledge, which they had to navigate single file to avoid the risk of tumbling several dozen feet below. They had scarcely made it halfway over when a slow vibration began to shake the cliff face to their left, increasing in magnitude and volume at an alarming rate.

"Puff?" Jigglypuff said, meaning, "What is that?"

"I dunno," Red said, picking up the pace as much as he could without causing himself to slip. "But I don't want to be here to find out." He grabbed his two Pokémon under his arms and made a break for the other side where it widened and curved back toward the mountain.

Behind them, Yoshi urged Popo to hop onto his back, and they followed their friends closely, trying not to panic when what sounded like an impending avalanche seemed to be nearly upon them.

The first rock, silhouetted against the sun, caught Yoshi by surprise, striking his left shoulder and throwing him enough off-balance to send both him and his passenger off the edge.

Yoshi cried out in pain, while Popo yelled as he lost his grip on Yoshi's saddle and fell away, both of them tumbling to their deaths.

What happened next occurred in just a few seconds, but to them, it felt like their world had decelerated to slow motion. The green dinosaur, mid-fall, oriented himself enough to locate Popo. His sticky red tongue shot out and looped itself around the mountaineer, drawing him back onto the saddle. Then, he utilized the Yoshis' inherent gift of floating to run in midair, steadily rising up to where Red, Pichu, and Jigglypuff awaited them. After straining one last time and landing on the ledge, Yoshi let Popo off his back, panting heavily. But from the looks of things, he would have no time to rest.

After the initial rock had fallen, dozens and then hundreds more followed suit, cascading and crashing against the narrow ledge the Smashers had just occupied seconds before like a granite waterfall. Amidst the cacophony of the Rock Slide, a multitude of voices erupted that caused the heroes to realize these weren't just ordinary rocks.

"Geodude!"

"Geodude! Geodude! Geodude!"

"Geodude! Geodude!"

The Pokémon swarmed down the cliff, rocky arms swinging helplessly and large, iron-colored eyes spinning in every direction with what Red couldn't decide was excitement or indifference. Either way, it appeared to be a traveling method they were used to.

Luckily, the width of their freefalling formation was restricted to a short segment, but not being desirous to take any chances, Red led them as far away from the phenomenon as possible.

But that didn't seem to be far enough, for as they rounded the bend that pointed them back toward the mountains in a natural jagged path, an incredibly hefty boulder—at least twenty times the size of the Geodudes and about as big as a grossly obese Polar Bear—spun off the cliff above and surged toward them like a giant ball bearing . If they'd had the time to look carefully, they would have noticed the Golem's spherical, scale-like body and its reptilian head, arms, and feet sticking out from it. But there wasn't enough time for Pichu to scratch his ear—never mind diving out of the way—when its momentum would likely have given the _Indiana Jones_ booby trap a run for its money.

"Arcanine, Fireball attack!"

It almost wasn't enough, but the blast of concentrated flames nudged the Golem just enough off course to allow it to continue its descent unhindered by broken bones or squashed flesh.

Having braced himself for the inevitable, it took a few seconds for Red to open his eyes and realize he wasn't dead. Although what he saw didn't particularly please him.

A horse-sized creature stood before them. It looked somewhat like a tiger with spiky white hair surrounding its fierce head and its bushy tail. Arcanine. From its back, a lean-muscled, blue-sweatered youth with equally spiky brown hair stepped down, rubbing his Pokémon's mane affectionately while fixing his rival with a "well, look who crawled out of the dumpster" smirk.

"Huh," he said. "I thought something smelled up here. You'd think the Indigo League _champion_ would be able to hold his own against a measly wild Golem."

"Nice to see you, too, Gary," Red muttered. There were very few things he would look forward to less than being flattened by a Golem, but being made to look the fool by his competitive cousin just might make the list. Pichu and Jigglypuff, ever loyal to their trainer, glared suspiciously at the proud-faced Arcanine.

"You saved us," Popo said, unaware of the danger of admitting that Red was in his rival's debt. "Thanks a bunch!"

Gary nonchalantly tossed a spare Pokéball up and down, sizing up the rest of the group. "No prob," he said. "I come up here almost every day to train. This is actually where she evolved from Growlithe after lighting up a pissed-off Fearow like a torch." He scratched behind Arcanine's ear; she looked as if she would use Fireball all day if that meant receiving Gary's regular pampering massages.

After due introductions had been made, Gary accompanied them as they slowly made their way down the last stretch of cliffs. Arcanine made sure to leap unnecessarily across wide cracks and crevices just to show off to Pichu and Jigglypuff. They pretended not to notice.

"So, Master Champion, what brings your Highness to the humble realm of Kanto?" As if Red hadn't spent nearly his entire life in the Kanto Region.

Red resisted the urge to respond with a witty retort, remembering the gravity of their quest. He described what had happened at the Pokéfloat Festival and the nature of their mission. Surprisingly, Gary made no sarcastic comments the whole time.

"Well," he said. "Savin' the world, huh? Sounds like fun, but I'm sure you Smashers'll take down Master Hand just fine. I mean, you got lucky enough to beat _me_ , so with that kind of fortune, anything's possible."

"We could use your help," Yoshi said.

Gary climbed back onto Arcanine. "Nah. If it really gets that bad, I think the whole Nintendo World will know. But in the meantime, the next Pokémon League is comin' up, and I've got some amateur trainers' wallets to empty." He gave Red a wry grin. "Smell ya later."

And with that, he and Arcanine were gone, loping across the steppes that separated them from Saffron City like a fiery knight.

As their trail finally flattened out and they left behind any further possible Rock Slides, Red felt grudging gratitude and respect for his rival. Despite the punk's brash attitude, he had indeed rescued them from almost certain death, and in spite of his prideful demeanor, he was in fact an extraordinary Pokémon Trainer. He allowed himself a brief smile. _Just not quite good enough to beat_ my _team._

It hadn't been half an hour before a figure in the distance advanced rapidly toward him, and the last thing Red expected had happened: Gary had returned.

This time, there was no boastfulness in his voice. Just…could it be…fear?

He took a long moment to catch his breath, then looked up at them with a frantic expression. "I can't believe I'm saying this, Red…but I need your help." He glanced at the rest of them. "I need all your help."

Red clenched his fists tensely. "What is it?"

"Saffron City in under attack."

"By who? Team Rocket?"

"No." He directed their attention to where the faint black ridges marking Saffron City had become interspersed with purple specks. "Master Hand."

* * *

Mario languished in his cell. He had lost track of how long they had been imprisoned in Master Hand's Fortress. Though they had never been let out except to witness Pikachu's disturbing transformation, the food slipped under the door each day was surprisingly good. He found his favorite mushroom and pasta-based dishes on silver platters, as if he were an honored guest at some sort of banquet. Mario wondered whether the others who had failed to escape—Marth, Ness, and the Princess—had been given similar treatment.

But mentally and emotionally, he had hardly ever been worse. The trauma of imprisonment knowing that Peach was anything but safe left him too exhausted to bother trying to figure out what Master Hand had planned. But he had at least gathered that they would all soon share Pikachu's fate unless something drastic was done about it.

And then, one day, that opportunity finally arrived.

"Mario; help!"

Peach's desperate cry sounded from just outside the cell door, prompting the plumber to spring to his feet and rush up to it.

"Don't a-touch her!" He pounded uselessly on the steel door with his fists.

As if his knocking had actually made a difference, he had to step back as the door was flung open. Metal Mario and Metal Luigi burst into the room, grabbing Mario under the arms and forcing him out the door.

 _Apparently Master Hand has a thing for irony,_ he thought as he was pushed down the hallway. For in front of him, Peach was being hauled like a doll by Metal Bowser—the same being that had foiled their last escape attempt. She struggled in vain against the iron Koopa's grip.

But this time, their captors had taken no chances. The metal doppelgangers were incomparably stronger than the Wire Frames; all Mario could do was allow himself to be propelled forward through the big red doors at the end of the hallway. From the scuffling sounds behind him, he assumed Marth and Ness had also been summoned. Before entering the circular room with the trophy machine, he noticed this time that an intersecting hallway seemed to curve around the perimeter of the room, suggesting more branching corridors of cells. Perhaps they were not Master Hand's only prisoners after all.

To the surprise of no one, Mario, Ness, and Marth were promptly shackled to the walls. Mario then identified his fellow inmates' escorts as Metal Marth, Roy, Ness, and what appeared to be another Mario with an iron lab coat and stethoscope. But this time, Peach found herself secured against her will to a tall white slab in the center—beneath which resided another trophy stand identical to the one used with Pikachu. She fixed her eyes desperately on her hero, too terrified to speak.

It was his worst nightmare. Not only was his princess about to become subjected to a terrible and mysterious fate, but he was being forced to watch it. And there was nothing he could do.

No Master Hand appeared; but the short figure with the hissing voice stepped in after a few minutes, still shrouded in the darkness of the room. Without a word, it set about starting up the octopus-like contraption, although over the whirring and beeping, Mario could have sworn he heard it giggling to itself.

Peach's features suddenly relaxed; she gave Mario a tranquil smile, although it was not without effort. Each wanted to reassure the other that everything would be all right. Neither of them could.

As before, the machine's noise neared its peak, and the brightness surrounding Peach increased almost to the point of blinding. Mario was about to close his eyes, for he did not want to see what came next. Then, a flare of green intermingled with the light, outdoing it in brightness and sparkling like a spectacular firework.

"PK…Flash!"

Ness's telekinetic attack cut off the column of light engulfing the princess. The collision of the two energy sources created a shockwave that rippled across the room, knocking over metal characters, breaking the shackles off the walls, and—most importantly—causing serious damage to the machine. The shrouded figure howled with rage as the system shut down and various metal parts crashing to the floor. It took no further notice of the prisoners, scampering about to collect the fallen pieces and minimize the damage.

Taking advantage of their enemies' temporary incapacitation, the recently liberated heroes made for the red doors, shaking off their broken shackles and stepping around the shifting metal bodies. Mario, however, first made a beeline to where Peach had been….

"Mama mía…."

It was too late. Princess Peach smiled graciously and displayed her delicate, formal posture, not budging an inch as her many-time savior tried to pull her off the orange trophy stand.

"Mario, come on!" Ness, although briefly pleased with the result of his well-meditated outburst, glanced nervously at the six metal figures struggling to get back on their feet and reorient themselves. He held the door open as Marth went over and placed a hand on Mario's shoulder.

"There's nothing you can do for her now, my friend," he said, calm but urgent. "This time, to save your princess, you must escape the castle first."

For some reason, this resonated with the Mushroom Kingdom's protector, shaking him from his distraught stupor. He grasped Peach's petrified hand for a short moment and narrowed his eyes.

"Let's a-go."

They sprinted back down the red-carpeted hallway, their shadows dancing in the flickering torchlight. As they neared the recently repaired stained-glass window that would now serve as an escape route a second time, Ness noticed something peculiar about the purple shapes making up its design. They appeared to be some sort of humanoid polygons….

Marth shattered the window with his foot, glancing down at the steep drop and then back up the hallway where six silver Smashers were quickly closing the distance between them, hurtling forward like super magnets.

"We'll never make it!" Ness cried, realizing how foolish he had been to not think ahead about how exactly they would escape a fortress from one hundred feet above the giant tabletop.

But there was no time to think. Red and green fireballs, giant multicolored pills, and Metal Ness's PK Thunder shot toward them, with Metal Bowser, Marth, and Roy following close behind. The projectiles and iron fighters were nearly upon them….

"Hold on!" Marth wrapped his arms around his two companions and compelled them over the edge, his blue cape billowing behind him. They narrowly evaded recapture, but not before Metal Bowser pushed past the rest and slashed its claw across the swordsman's back, simultaneously unleashing a stream of famished flames that clung hungrily onto the escapees' garments.

All was a whirling blur of glowing red and fluttering cobalt as Mario's stomach jumped to his throat, the agony of the burns barely registering over the terrifying rush of air carrying them to their deaths. The ground seemed to rise up like an enormous platform, but before they made contact, his brain went into a panic and shut down, pulling him into a merciful unconsciousness.


	7. Chapter 6: The Smash Brothers

Chapter 6: The Smash Brothers

* * *

" _ **H**_ ey; listen!"

Young Link woke up with a start. He couldn't tell whether he was dreaming or hallucinating or having some kind of vision, but according to his eyes, circling above his bed was a blue firefly-like fairy. It shone off the metal walls of the small room in Professor E. Gadd's portable laboratory where he and Roy had been lodged for the night. Fairies in Hyrule were so small that their bodies could not be seen with the naked eye. To most, only the brilliance of their bodies—which glowed with almost the same proportions as the nucleus of an atom controls the electron cloud surrounding it—was visible, along with their four fluttering wings. But there was only one fairy who spoke that way to the young hero: Navi. His longtime companion in his endeavor to stop Ganondorf. The fairy who the boy thought he'd seen near Saria as they took their departure from the Kokiri Forest. And now she was here.

"Mmmmwuhhh?" Still half-asleep, this was the most coherent response he could manage.

"Get up, Link," she whispered. "Bring your things." Although at this stage in his interrupted REM cycle, it sounded more like a ReDead singing through a loudspeaker.

"Mmmmokay…."

He stumbled out of the simple but comfortable bed, tripping over his shield and drowsily strapping it on along with the rest of his gear. Leaving Roy's snoring figure behind, he followed Navi out into a hallway—also metal—and felt his way to a door that slid open smoothly as he put his hand to the touchpad.

Stepping into the chilly air of the forest, however, Young Link's head began to clear, and with increased wakefulness came a sharpened suspicion of anything strange occurring in such a godforsaken place. He narrowed his eyes at the fairy.

"How do I know you're not just a ghost trying to lure me into danger? The Professor told us that's what happened when Fox saw his dad."

"Good point." Navi made a sudden beeline for his forehead, bonking him like a pebble, then shot up and knocked his green hat off. "Could a ghost have done that?"

"Ow…." Young Link rubbed his forehead as he retrieved his Kokiri cap from the barren ground. "Ok, I believe you. But where are we going?"

The fairy was silent for a moment, as if trying to decide how to best put what she had to say into words. "Link, the Great Deku Tree sent me after you because he had a premonition about the next part of your journey. He said…he said you need to leave your friends and go south."

"What? Why? No…I'm doing just fine with Roy and the space guys. They've already saved my life more than once; how could I abandon them now?"

"I don't know why, Link. All he told me was that there's someone you'll need to help in Akaneia…'in a way no one else can.'"

"Akaneia?" He had only heard of this land from Roy. Based on the map he'd received from the last Smash Tournament, it was situated past the western border of the Twilight Forest, a ways south of his current location (assuming they hadn't strayed too far off course by following Fox to the mansion). It was supposed to be a noble kingdom, although from what Roy had told him, it had become quite arid.

Young Link hesitated. If the Great Deku Tree thought he needed to go to Akaneia, he probably ought to do it. "Alright. But I have to leave a note for Roy and the others so they don't freak out when I'm not there in the morning."

"Ok. Hurry, though; if they wake up before we leave, it'll just be another delay."

Young Link nodded. He slipped back into the lab and found a room with a desk covered in blueprints and mathematical formulas. After scribbling a note on the back of a sheet full of chemical equations and pinning it to the front of the desk, he returned to where Navi awaited outside.

"Lead the way."

* * *

The morning sky peeking through the laboratory windows was gray and pallid. Although he hadn't been expecting bright tropical sunshine, Roy had at least hoped for something a bit less unpleasant than the eerie darkness of yesterday. But it seemed that the Twilight Forest was determined to be just as cold and unsettling during the day as it was at night. He arose, refreshed himself with the Professor's cramped but functional washing facilities, and went out to meet the others in the laboratory's enormous central chamber.

It was like a factory stuffed into a large cottage. Actually, it pretty much _was_ a factory stuffed into a large cottage. Bulky machines filled most of the space, covered in dials and buttons and switches and blinking lights. Conveyer belts snaked between the machines with indistinguishable metal parts scattered about their surfaces. Metal pipes wound their way across the walls and the ceiling with occasional segments of glass that revealed various liquids of diverse colors. Fortunately, most of the equipment appeared to be turned off at the moment, so Roy could actually hear what the Professor was saying at the large desk ahead.

"Hm…looks like the lad flew the coop," he said. Then, noticing Roy: "There you are. Your friend Link seems to have gone his own way on the word of a 'Great Duko Tree.'" He handed Roy the note.

Upon reading it, the young swordsman raised an eyebrow. "Akaneia? That is where Marth and I hail from. I must find him; he will need my help to pass through its dangers unharmed."

"See, here's the thing." Though it was hard to tell with the swirling glasses, E. Gadd appeared concerned. "After all you young'uns told me last night about Master Hand and these metal clones, I think now's the time to tell you the truth."

"What do you mean?" Fox asked.

"Well, dearie me, how do I put this? Er…this rescue mission you're on. I'm afraid the stakes are much higher than you may realize. This isn't just about a few of your friends goin' missing. Folks've been disappearing all over the Nintendo World. Mario, Pikachu, Ness…just to name a few."

"What is your point, may I ask?" As far as Roy was concerned, this only made their need to catch up with Young Link even more urgent.

"Master Hand is waging war on the entire world, isn't he?" Samus wasn't too surprised; she had drawn this conclusion soon after hearing the Great Deku Tree's limited knowledge of their enemy's motives.

E. Gadd nodded. "We're not sure how he's doing it, but his Wire Frames and metal clones have been poppin' up all over the place: Princess Peach's Castle; Saffron City; Hyrule; most recently, my onetime protégé Mr. Luigi fought off an attack in the Beanbean Kingdom. Whatever his reasons are, Master Hand's got it in for all of us…unless we do something about it."

One thing wasn't adding up in Fox's mind. "So how do you know all of this? And who's 'we?'"

The Professor chuckled. "You'll find out soon enough, lad. For now, let's just say I've got my sources…."

Roy's patience was failing him. "Then we need Link's help; there are only a handful of us who have ever even _seen_ Master Hand, let alone fought him."

"Right you are." E. Gadd pulled out a handheld radar-like device that appeared to display a map of the entire Nintendo mainland on its screen. A number of blinking blue dots were scattered across the map, with a few small clusters in the Kanto Region, Beanbean Kingdom, and the Battlefields.

"What you're referring to, Roy, is the Original 25. A term coined by a ghost named Madame Clairvoya some years ago who lived in the very mansion I found you in. You probably saw her portrait in that underground hallway.

"Anyways, my late friend the fortune-teller made a prophecy about the 25 participants in Master Hand's latest Smash Tournament. Her language tends to be rather cryptic, but in essence, she predicted that these individuals are fated to band together to defeat the Hands, or else fate will hand the World to darkness."

"How poetic," Samus said.

"What I'm getting at, lads, is we've gotta make all due haste for the Great Fourside City. That's where the Original 25 are gatherin', and _that's_ where we must take our stand, before Master Hand's forces overshadow the most important megalopolis in the Nintendo World and bring us to our knees."

"So you're coming with us?" Fox was a bit surprised.

"Of course. I'm just as interested in saving our world as you youngsters."

"Then Link will find his own way there because other Smashers are heading in the same direction," Roy concluded. As much as he wished to return home, he had to admit it made sense.

Samus, however, wasn't convinced. "Assuming your superstitious ghost prophecy is true, which I doubt, how do you suggest we get there any faster than the kid? Our ships are destroyed."

The Professor gave another toothy grin. "I thought you'd never ask."

He drew out a remote control from the pocket of his lab coat and pressed a big red button. The room's machinery began to unhinge and fold in on itself like the pages of a pop-up book until the chamber was empty. Then, a spiral-shaped aperture opened in the floor, and the ceiling made way for a rather wide, domed skylight whose glass segments slid together and exposed the hazy sky above. Finally, with the sound of decompressing air, a platform rose through the aperture carrying what looked like a spacious circular raft with yellow and black stripes and a number of well-cushioned seats within.

"May I present," he said theatrically, "our ride."

* * *

"So…now that we're all out of critical condition, someone wanna enlighten me on what the Fichina just happened?"

After the demonic Floormaster departed, Zelda had remained unconscious for another half hour. When she came to, she could remember nothing past the moment when she had been abducted by the Metal Zelda. Even after resting, she felt about as well as one might hope to be following a demon possession. She, Beldam, and Marilyn had taken two much-needed hours to recover from their most recent trauma, and the party had just resumed their journey out of the Battlefields.

Beldam, despite her reformed ways, could not help responding to Falco's query with a grim sneer. " _That_ …was the Shadow Queen. Or what's left of her, anyway. Believe you me, if she had been at her full power, we would be a smoldering pile of ash by now."

"But..." This was the very thing that troubled Vivian. "How is she still alive at all? I thought that explosion of light after Mario and I defeated her was pretty definitive…."

"Yes," Beldam mused, slinking across the ground alongside the rest of them. "The dark presence I sensed in Zelda was most certainly hers; yet, it was a faint presence. Distant. A mere shadow of her former self."

"Guuuhh!" Marilyn added.

Beldam nodded. "Right you are, sister. The only way the Shadow Queen could have survived is if someone was able to somehow preserve a remnant of her dark life force and instill it with a new physical form. The question is, who? And why this hand-like shadow creature? And how?"

"That's three questions," Nana pointed out.

"I can answer the 'what,' at least." Link's memory flashed back to all the times he'd confronted such monsters. "That physical form, so you call it, was a Floormaster. One of the many minions of Ganon."

The implications of this were almost too horrible for Zelda to voice. But it had to be said. "Could…could this Shadow Queen from the Mushroom Kingdom have been revived by Ganon to serve Master Hand?"

"Rogueport," Beldam corrected. "But yes, I suppose he could."

"We defeated Ganondorf, though," Link said. However, even before he spoke, he knew it was a weak argument. And Zelda reluctantly debunked it.

"We both know the Gerudo King always finds a way back, Link."

Nana took their discussion one step further. "So Master Hand is gathering all of the Nintendo World's most powerful villains against us."

"Makes sense," Falco said. "I wonder how far that thing's influence reaches. Can't think of anyone from the Lylat System who'd be dumb or evil enough to support him, seeing as Andross, Oikonny, Pigma, and the Aparoids are long gone. Star Wolf, maybe, but as much as I hate the guy, O'Donnell has too much honor to make such a stupid mistake."

Beldam considered Nana's theory. "I'm sure we'll soon find out."

At long last, after days of interminable walking and bizarre encounters with clones and doppelgangers and demons, the Great Fourside City was in sight. Unlike the boundary between the Twilight Forest and Akaneia, the long stretch of flatlands transitioned gradually from the unnatural purple glow of the Battlefields to the dull, gray earth that eventually became the city's outskirts. No one dared live within ten miles of Master Hand's forsaken country, so they still had a ways to go before encountering civilization. Nevertheless, the sight of distant skyscrapers brought them hope like the dark blur of a far-off island to a shipwrecked seafarer.

But the Battlefields weren't quite finished with them. Just as the ground below them began to lose its flashing fluorescence, the escapees and Shadow Sirens were faced with their strangest sight yet.

A group—nay, a tribe—of small creatures were dancing ritualistically around some kind of silver obelisk or tower. They were clad in purple, which was why they seemed to blend in with the landscape at first, and wore grass skirts and circular white masks with large black eyes. As Falco and Link cautiously led them closer, they made out red streaks of war paint, primitive wooden spears, and a single black-clad Shy Guy in the middle, appearing to be in control of the ceremony. The Spear Guys warbled like tiny underwater chainsaws, spinning and jumping with remarkably synchronized choreography.

"Yeah…." Falco directed them to one side, allowing the ritual a wide berth. "I think I've had enough weird crap for a couple lifetimes. Let's give these idiots their space and—"

"Idiots, are we?"

All seven of them did an about face to find the black Shy Guy standing before them at a full two feet, though with the menace in his voice, he might as well have been ten feet tall. Up close, it was evident that unlike the others, his mask was an iron gray.

"We have suffered too long and too many times at the hands of strangers like you. First it was Mario and his ragtag band of freakish partners…and ever since then, ever since we were shamed in the Shy Guys' Toy Box, we have been wanderers, lost between worlds and dimensions until at last we found a power worthy of our veneration. Until at last we found…The Light!"

He gestured with both arm stubs at the silver obelisk around which the Spear Guys continued to circumambulate, speaking its name with reverence.

"Hm…." Though slightly intimidated by this indignant individual, Vivian's curiosity got the better of her, as usual. "Shy Guys' Toy Box…? Wait…I know where I've heard that before. Mario told me about his quest to rescue the seven Star Spirits, and one of them was trapped and guarded in that box. He told me there was a General Guy and some other strange ones, but the toughest by far was a shady one guarding a treasure chest. You're the Anti-Guy!"

"Heh…Indeed I am." In spite of Shy Guys' general incapability of facial expression, Vivian got the vibe that if he could have given an evil smile, he would. "Now, come, my Brothers of the Mask, and show these fools the might of our brotherhood!"

With that, the several dozen Spear Guys froze mid-dance, turned in unison toward the newcomers, and with a tribal holler, came at them in a wave of warbling violet, shaking their spears with bloodlust.

And they were thrust into battle. Nana, barely taller than the Shy Guys, dueled them spear to hammer, whacking back and forth like an incensed dwarf from _Lord of the Rings_. Falco drew out his twin blasters and picked them off as they rushed at him with their spears leveled. Link stuck a few with arrows before unsheathing the Master Sword and slicing at them, knocking back those lucky enough to get past him with his embossed Hylian Shield

Zelda vanished in a swirl of magic smoke, which upon subsiding revealed her alter-ego, Sheik. Her head was wrapped in white cloth except for the eyes and a few strand of blond hair; she wore a slim ninja-like suit with blue sleeves and leggings and a white torso bearing the ancient Sheikah emblem, which resembled a red all-seeing eye.

She fell upon the Spear Guys with equally ninja-like agility, kicking one here, whiplashing a couple with her chain there, spread-shooting a few with a Needle Storm from behind. If Link hadn't been so busy himself, he would have stopped to admire the Princess's fighting prowess, something he'd almost forgotten.

The Shadow Sirens, meanwhile, faced off against the Anti-Guy, which was not as easy as it might sound. The three sisters rushed him with their respective fire, ice, and electric magic at hand, but as they converged, their adversary bounced above their heads, and with an obsidian glint in his eye, came down hard upon Beldam with a disproportionately powerful attack that instantly knocked her out.

Marilyn, enraged, lurched forward, belly-flopping onto the diminutive foe with a satisfying crunch. For a moment, it seemed she had achieved an anticlimactic victory, but then the Anti-Guy threw her off with inexplicable strength, leapt above the airborne assailant, and head-butted her back to the ground with meteoric force.

Two were down for the count, leaving Vivian to confront the Anti-Guy alone. She hurled flames at the enemy, who dodged them effortlessly and then surged forward, headfirst, going in for the win.

Which he would have achieved, had a Freezy not intercepted his trajectory, encasing him in a block of solid ice. Nana, who had jumped above a cluster of Spear Guys to provide this assistance, turned around to contend with the few remaining warriors.

Sheik alighted on top of the frozen Anti-Guy, and without a moment's hesitation, landed a series of quick punches through the ice into the deviant Shy Guy's face. She proceeded to rip him out of the ice, holding him by his black garment, prepared to finish the job.

But the Anti-Guy looked out and saw his followers scattered across the ground, spears broken and eyes dazed. He did not struggle, but hung limp. Yet from the way he was laughing softly, somehow Sheik did not believe he had given up. The rest of the Smashers gathered around Anti-Guy, having finished their fight.

"Alright, you miserable munchkin." Falco leaned in within inches of the gray mask. "You'd better start beggin' for mercy pronto, or you'll become a Dead Guy."

Though the Anti-Guy was unresisting, he was also unfazed. "Bravo, heroes. You've succeeded in defeating my pawns…and, in so doing, have prepared the sacrifice for my ultimate weapon. Behold…THE LIGHT!"

Suddenly, a violent earthquake brought everyone to their knees. It appeared to originate from the silver obelisk, which was morphing fluidly and expanding into an unusual but unmistakable shape.

"You've got to be kidding me," Link said. "Not again."

It was at least fifty feet tall. The giant desk lamp, that is. A bloodshot, elephant-sized bulb/eyeball glared down upon them from within its bowl-shaped aperture. Its cherry-colored surfaces and long, curving black spine were studded with sharp silver spikes that would have rendered any sort of regular lamp usage utterly impossible. It made not a sound, but twisted so that its single bulbous eye had a clear view of the scattered mortals beneath it, both conscious and unconscious.

Falco gave the Hero of Time an inquisitive glance.

"Don't ask," Link said.

Before they could make their decision to flee or fight, the monstrous lamp made it for them. Its aperture took on an ominous yellow glow—aimed straight at them.

Sheik dropped the Anti-Guy as they retreated with haste. And just in time, for seconds later, an awesome beam of light struck where they had been moments before. It swept across the field, incinerating the Spear Guys, whose energy appeared to be absorbed by the thing. Vivian just managed to pull her unconscious sisters into the shadows of the ground and away from danger. As the Anti-Guy fell under the deadly gaze of the lamp, he laughed still harder even while his body disintegrated into nothing.

"Well, this sucks," Falco commented. "How the heck do we get past this thing?"

"The bulb must be its weak point," Sheik said. "I shall provide a distraction; Vivian, you use your shadow abilities to travel beneath the beast and attack from the opposite side to confuse it. Falco, while we divert it, you and Nana run underneath the bulb, then throw Nana upward so she can shatter it with her hammer. Link, you…Link?"

They realized with a start that the Hylian hero had vanished. But there was no time to wonder further, for the lamp's bulb had begun to glow again, this time to feed upon whatever remained alive.

Sheik clenched her fists. "Prepare yourself. Ready…and…g—what?"

The cause of her interrupted countdown was clear. The lamp monster had abruptly powered down, as it were, becoming nothing more than a colossal, ugly desk lamp.

Tentatively, they crept forward until they reached its base. No questions were asked, for Link had appeared from behind the lamp, holding up a disconnected plug the size of a goat. He wielded it with mock gusto.

"And that," he said, "is why I felt like such a dunce the first time."

* * *

The Falcon Flyer exited the portal with all the subtlety of an atomic bomb. Their crash landing resembled in many ways that which begins _Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith_ except on a smaller scale and into the suburban streets of Onett.

Fortunately, on Earth it was early in the morning, and few cars and pedestrians were out to witness or be crushed by the burning hot, five-ton hunk of metal.

As the vessel screeched to a stop, completely wrecking the street and taking a few walls and roofs with it, a solitary girl with a pink dress and blond curls stood not thirty feet away from its final resting place, staring with mixed curiosity and apprehension. Her suspicion, of course, was not lessened when the motley group of passengers clambered out through a smoking hatch, deeply shaken and discombobulated.

 _These are some of the weirdest aliens I've ever seen_ , Paula thought, eyeing up the clothed monkeys, the fashion disaster musclemen, and the giant mutated turtle.

"You. Girl."

One of the musclemen, who had creepy orange hair and an ugly brown cape, marched over and fixed her with a venomous glare. Understandably, this made Paula quite uncomfortable.

"You'd better back off, mister," she said, poised to defend herself. "You're not going to invade my planet if _I_ have anything to say about it."

Though both impressed and annoyed by this little girl's impetuosity, Ganondorf's annoyance won over. "I have no interest in your pathetic planet. Tell me where we are if you value your pitiful life." He took another step closer.

That did not sit well with Paula.

"I said, BACK OFF!"

All of a sudden, Ganondorf found himself totally unable to move. Paula's Paralysis attack had stopped him in his tracks.

The remaining Falcon Flyer passengers watched this confrontation, most of them with amusement. Ganondorf was about as sympathetic a character as the playground bully.

"Foolish girl," Ganondorf growled, willing his body to break free of her PSI powers. "You cannot contain me."

And, indeed, within a few seconds, the Gerudo trumped her magic with the invigorating strength of the Triforce of Power, the golden triangle shining on the back of his hand. He shattered the girl's hold on him and made to grab Paula by the throat and choke the life out of her.

" _PK Thunder!"_

A bolt of blue lightning cut Ganondorf off from his target, knocking him back a good ten feet onto the ground. He arose with increased anger, beholding the newest arrival: another kid, this one an Arab boy in a white karate uniform with a single black spike of hair.

"You will not harm my friend," Poo said. Though he hailed from the distant land of Dalaam, he and many others had gathered in Eagleland to watch the latest Smash Tournament, which had concluded some time ago, but he had been in no hurry to leave his friends, especially because they were all awaiting Ness's return from the Saffron City Pokéfloat Festival.

Despite the mounting opposition, Captain Falcon, Bowser, Donkey Kong, and the rest felt no inclination to lend Ganondorf any assistance. If he wanted to pick a fight with the natives, that was his problem.

"I shall ask you one more time," Ganondorf said. "What is this wretched place? The sooner I know, the sooner I can be rid of you, and perhaps if I feel generous, I will destroy only half your planet for your insolence."

"Well, why didn't you say so, mister?" Paula said sweetly. "This is the lovely town of Onett, planet Earth. I'll tell you what: You take your gang of weirdos and go, and we'll forget this ever happened. Or you can stay and _try_ to fight, and we'll wipe that stupid grin off your creepy face."

That would have been it for Onett, for Ganondorf was about to transform into his terrible beast form, Ganon, and decimate everything and everyone. But it was at that moment that the Starmen struck.

A robotic voice echoed across the block: "New objective acquired: Destroy humans. Collect package for Master Hand. Now executing directive."

A squad of chrome, gold, and brass-colored humanoids materialized onto the street and rooftops surrounding the grounded Falcon Flyer. They had the looks of robots with shiny, "glass-blown" bodies and pointed arms, and a single black rectangle for a face. The brass-colored ones, the Starman Deluxes, had a series of spikes running across their shoulders and heads. They were the leaders, and they had decided that Ganondorf was the biggest threat to their timely invasion and therefore became their first target. Dozens of yellow PK Beams shot from every direction, catching Ganondorf in the crossfire and effectively taking him out of the picture.

That was enough to wake the rest of the town, which went into a panic, people screaming and fleeing their houses and jumping into their cars with children in hand and pointing at the many aliens that had chosen their humble town as their battleground. It was a sunny morning spoiled by violence.

In the chaos that ensued, the Smashers were no less confused, but they ultimately determined that the aliens shooting at everyone were their primary concern. Captain Falcon dashed to the nearest Starman and attempted to knee it in the chest—only for it to vanish in a twinkle of light and appear in another spot nearby, spouting another PK Beam that narrowly missed his head. The rest found themselves similarly challenged; neither Bowser's claws nor the Kongs' acrobatic assaults were quick enough to catch the elusive extra-terrestrials, and they found themselves being pulverized by jets of energy on every side.

Paula and Poo were taken slightly off guard, but having experienced these aggressive beings before, they were better prepared. Paula unleashed a fan of PK Fires, finding their mark on five Starman Supers which, no matter where they tried to teleport, met with a fiery end. Poo gathered every ounce of psychic strength he could muster, then conjured a raging PK Starstorm that created comparable difficulties for the Starmen on the rooftops. Their attacks were effective, but there was some unavoidable collateral damage to the town itself as buildings caught fire and had chunks blasted out of them by meteors. This also included, to Captain Falcon's horror, the remains of his beloved spacecraft, which exploded like a kitten in a microwave. Luckily, all the citizens had evacuated well before the two PSI kids made their move. All except one, that is.

Joining the PK Fire and Starstorm, a flock of bottle rockets cascaded from the north, blasting apart many of the retreating Starmen. Their source: another kid, wearing a blue suit, a blond bowl cut, and thick, square-rimmed glasses. He stood crouched behind an air vent on the roof of a small business, setting up additional rockets and taking potshots with his Magnum Air Gun in between launches.

By this point, the remaining Starmen were on the run. A very generic-looking UFO descended, enveloping the rest in a blue beam and taking them up and inside. The last Starman Deluxe paused, appearing to address the heroes before its departure.

"Master Hand's package to note: Objective has been delayed, but to be completed at a later date. Preparation is advised." It, too, disappeared, and the spinning UFO sped away and out of sight.

 _Was that a threat?_ Captain Falcon thought.

Soon, the fire department came in and began to clean up the battle's aftermath, searching for survivors, putting out fires, and generally avoiding the group of foreigners at all costs.

Ganondorf, to the Earthlings' relief, remained unconscious. Meanwhile, Paula, Poo, and Jeff consorted with Captain Falcon and company, realizing not all of them were raging megalomaniacs (Bowser certainly was, but given the circumstances, he managed to keep himself at least temporarily in check).

"Thanks for your help," Captain Falcon said, ever the astral diplomat. "We owe you one."

Jeff adjusted his glasses. "Yes, well, it's good to know that at least _some_ of you have some civility about you."

"Ugh…." DK felt tremendously rattled by his fruitless effort to combat the Starmen. "Why do we keep running into crazy aliens? It's about time we actually find Master Hand and teach him a lesson."

"All in good time," Jeff said. "For now, come with me; my father, Dr. Andonuts, has a lab set up nearby. I think he can help us get you home and figure out what we're dealing with."

* * *

The view from the winged Bean Pods was spectacular. As they whisked across the northern reaches of the Beanbean Kingdom, Luigi felt almost overcome with nostalgia. The icy glaciers of Joke's End; the humble huts of Little Fungitown; the barren wasteland known as Teehee Valley; the glittering lavender slopes of Stardust Fields; the steep escarpments of Hoo Hoo Mountain. All of it passed below them in a rush, as if it were all a dream scrolling across their minds.

Each of them had adjusted a little differently to their most recent mode of transportation. Peasley, of course, felt right at home, having travelled this way most of his life. Luigi felt rather unsteady at first, but soon realized that the Bean Pod was much more stable than, say, a snowboard, for it seemed to know which direction his body was going to tilt and adjusted accordingly. Kirby was a natural; as far as he was concerned, this was just another variety of Air Rider, hardly different from the Warp Star he was born to ride.

Mr. Game & Watch, however, was struggling. Put his innate distrust of the Beanbean prince together with his two-dimensional nature and his almost 100% grounded lifestyle, and it is not hard for one to imagine why he would find such a flight difficult. To G.W.'s chagrin, Prince Peasley had to give step-by-step instructions for him to establish any semblance of stability, and even then, the prince had had to prevent him from falling on more occasions than he cared to remember.

The landscape changed dramatically as they passed out of the Beanbean Kingdom and into the Twilight Forest. Dead, spindly tree branches wove a prickly canopy that would have made it nearly impossible for them to descend through. Hence, though the high-altitude air was chilly in spite of the warmth of the sun, they determined to at least reach the western end of the unwelcoming forest before attempting to land.

For a while, Luigi allowed himself to be caught up in the wonder of the moment. Here they were, four heroes from diverse lands, united in their determination to rescue their friends. He had a feeling they weren't alone—that their small party would only grow larger as they neared Master Hand's lair. Although the somber woods below left something to be desired in terms of beauty, the sublimity of soaring through the sky, the sun and clouds rushing past them, was well worth appreciating.

Finally, an end to the spindly woods came within sight; curiously, rather than tapering off into the landscape beyond, they formed a hard, abrupt line, as if none of them wished to put so much as a single root beyond their territory.

However, the southeastern region of the conglomerate nations of Akaneia was not exactly an oasis from the austere Twilight Forest; in fact, this area, known as Kadein, was quite the opposite: It was a desert.

Gently undulating sand dunes extended almost right up to the tree line, as if delineating the nonsensical border between two Wood and Desert tiles in _Settlers of Catan_. Almost as abrupt was the sudden heat wave that buffeted the airborne heroes, giving the impression that they had just walked into an oven. This was complemented by the intensely bright sun beating down upon and almost blinding them.

Kirby, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dazzling light, noticed a small figure emerging from the edge of the forest below them. He pointed down at it.

"Look!"

Luigi, Peasley, and G.W. followed the direction of Kirby's stubby pink arm, spotted the subject of the puffball's exclamation, and together they made a circling descent until they recognized the boy.

"Hey!" Young Link ran to meet them as they stepped off their Bean Pods into the hot sand. "Navi, you were right!"

Before Luigi could ask why he was talking to invisible people, what looked like a blue firefly sped out from within his green tunic and hovered impatiently.

"The Great Deku Tree was right, Link. But at this point, I've got no idea what you need to do, so I'm following your lead from here on out."

Each of Luigi's party reintroduced themselves (or, in Peasley's case, introduced for the first time). The general ambiance was quite awkward at first, but then Luigi proceeded to explain their quest only to find out they were all headed for the same place.

"Great!" Young Link said. "I could use a lift; apparently I'm supposed to help someone in Akaneia before finding Master Hand."

Peasley was about to offer their help when he glanced back and found that the four Bean Pods had already begun to shrivel up like raisins in the sun. He sighed, feeling almost as drained on the inside. "I regret to say, friend, that we can offer no more than our companionship. Beanish do not do well in extreme conditions…."

Young Link saw the sundried pods and shrugged. "Oh well. I'm used to walking by now, anyways. And from what Roy tells me, this place isn't all desert; once we find a settlement, we should be fine."

Luigi, the only other one who appeared to be significantly bothered by the heat, took off his hat to fan his already-sweating face. "Let's eh-go."

As they set out, Mr. Game & Watch could not help but feel a bit smug that Prince Peasley was out of his element for once. Heat didn't affect the depthless character in the slightest. Kirby, meanwhile, seemed to just enjoy whatever environment he happened to be in.

They had barely trekked half a mile into the desert when, as they reached a shallow valley of sand, numerous cloaked figures appeared over the top of the surrounding dunes and swiftly closed in on them. Though deeply unsettled, the Smashers could find no escape, so they prepared for battle as a ring of tall, blood-red-robed, hooded strangers formed around them.

Peasley, though very fatigued, pointed his rapier fiercely at the nearest figure. "Stand back, strangers!" he said. "We are peaceful venturers, but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves!"

A series of low muttering boomed from the human mouths of the strangers as they consorted one with another. Now that he had a moment to take in the newcomers' appearance, Luigi gulped as he realized that though their mouths and chins were human (the rest of their faces hidden in shadow), each had a pair of black bat-like wings folded behind them.

Finally, one of them spoke. "This is our land. You are the strangers here. Trespassers in the realm of the Manaketes are forbidden. We shall allow you one chance to leave with your lives, but after that, we _will_ strike you down."

Luigi had been about to say, "Yes, of course, we'll find another way around!" but Kirby, to his great dismay, beat him to the punch with a simple dangerous word.  
"No!"

At that, the muttering grew louder, and each Manakete drew out a glowing red stone from within its robes. Some of them, as it turned out, had reptilian claws for hands or dark scaly arms.

"Very well," the Manakete spokesman said calmly, brandishing a Firestone of his own. "This is goodbye, then."

"STOP."

All turned to behold a large, white-bearded man slowly making his way down one of the dunes to where they stood. He wore a voluminous red robe complete with a headdress and a blue streak running down the middle with yellow star-like symbols. To Young Link, he looked somewhat like one of the priests from the Temple of Time.

"Begone, creatures!"

Although this man presented no obvious threat, the angry Manaketes seemed to recognize (or even fear) him. Their glowing orbs were quickly replaced within their robes.

"This isn't over, White Sage," the lead Manakete hissed. With that, they crouched, allowed their dragon wings to spread out, and with a synchronized flap, pushed off the desert ground and took off across the sky toward the north.

Those who remained stood, speechless and relieved, as the old man turned to them. "I am Gotoh," he said. "You had better come with me. We have shelter and victuals for you."

Kirby beamed. "Food!"

* * *

The small rescue party approached Saffron City with caution. As they drew near the outskirts of the thriving Kanto metropolis, the towering shapes of Silph Co. and other big business buildings became more distinct, revealing a shifting mass of purple specks that had spread throughout the downtown area like a colony of bleached ants. Closer still, screams and crashes echoed toward the heroes as people fled the scene via car, bicycle, or on foot, not even pausing to glance at the green dinosaur, hammer-wielding Eskimo, or Pokémon League Champions who were fighting against the crowd to reach the center of the commotion.

They neared the front lines just as the Wire Frame army had begun to break free of the city center, scaling buildings and breaking windows and toppling lampposts and tearing apart cars and…Red did not want to think about what happened to those who had been unable to evacuate, those who might still be trapped in the higher floors of Saffron's skyscrapers.

 _And where did they all come from?_ he thought.

Gary looked uncharacteristically serious. "I don't know what these things are," he said, "but they're gonna regret messing around on my turf. Arcanine, we're going straight through. Quick Attack!"

The oversized dog bounded forward, trampling Wire Frames in an unerring course toward the central plaza from which the invaders seemed to be pouring. Yoshi and the others followed closely in his wake, knocking aside encroaching enemies with head bashes and hammer swings and Thundershocks and Double-Slaps.

They progressed relatively quickly through the streets, soon finding themselves isolated in a sea of aggressive purple humanoids. Some Wire Frames purposely made to head them off, but for the most part, they rushed past them without a second glance, too caught up in the excitement of conquest to notice a few stray citizens. At least, that was how it seemed to Red, although he doubted whether Wire Frames had any genuine emotions at all. They were pawns, completely submitted to Master Hand's will.

When the main square—a modest-sized park with grass and trees and picnic benches—drew nigh, two things became obvious. First, the Wire Frames were coming from two sources: The local Pokémon Gym, and the considerably larger Silph Co. building. How and why was anyone's guess. Second, something was going down in the central park which, at that moment, sent every Wire Frame within a 100-foot radius flying away from the center—along with benches, garbage cans, and ripped-out poplars—like a sudden five-second hurricane.

The shockwave nearly knocked the small party off their feet (and if Jigglypuff hadn't caught hold of Red's backpack, she would have blown away like a helium balloon). Fighting their way through gusts of leaves and debris, they finally discovered the epicenter of the invisible force.

A girl, certainly no older than 18, was facing off against a hovering humanoid cat—made of metal. She wore a long, classy red jacket with yellow buttons and had sleek, dark green hair and hypnotic violet eyes. Beautiful, but dangerous.

"Alakazam, Telekinesis attack!"

Her Pokémon—a strange, enormous mustard-yellow creature that for some reason carried a spoon in each hand—appeared to focus for a moment, then caused an empty ice cream truck to lift off the ground behind its opponent and soar toward Metal Mewtwo. But to the girl's dismay, the projectile collided instead with a magenta force field surrounding the Psychic creature, leaving the truck's remains (which included a lamentable amount of wasted ice cream) to scatter onto the ground.

Red could hardly believe it. Here was Sabrina, Gym Leader of Saffron City, going head to head against not only the strongest Psychic Pokémon ever known, but an impervious iron one. He was about to join her duel when Gary cut him off and turned to him briefly.

"I've got this. You go find where they're coming from and cut them off…" He indicated the doors to the Pokémon Gym and Silph Co. building where Wire Frames were still endlessly filing through. "…and Sabrina and I'll handle this hunka junk. Arcanine, return!" Gary's Pokémon dematerialized in a beam of red light, and he sprinted up to where Sabrina stood, ready to face Metal Mewtwo together.

With no time to argue, Red made a quick decision. "Yoshi, Popo, you two head into the Pokémon Stadium. We'll take Silph Co." And on that note, they split off.

Yoshi and Popo made off across the park, pushing through splintered wood and chunks of metal raining down upon them. Once they reached the gym entrance, it became clear there was only one way they would be able to get in.

"Yoshi!" the dinosaur said, meaning, "Follow me!" He rolled into an egg and literally bulldozed his way through the open double doors, leaving crushed Wire Frames in his wake. Popo bounced off their strewn gelatinous body parts into the stadium.

A large arena occupied the bulk of the stadium, with an appropriate saffron-yellow surface and a Pokéball shaped dividing line in the middle. However, Yoshi and Popo did not get to appreciate the regal interior because half the room was filled with clusters of Wire Frames and the center of the dividing line was covered by a strange jelly-like mound of purple, from which formless, viscous figures emerged like subdividing bubbles, rapidly solidifying into full-fledged Wire Frames. And as if that weren't enough, awaiting them on the opposite half of the area was…

Metal Pikachu.

Yoshi popped out of his egg and regrouped with Popo in one of the few unoccupied corners.

"At least they aren't paying any attention to us," the Ice Climber said.

All of the hostile occupants of the gym, Metal Pikachu included, froze in place and turned with one eerie synchronous motion to face the newcomers.

"Never mind," Popo amended, raising his hammer.

* * *

Gary didn't even turn to watch Red, Jigglypuff, and Pichu head off toward Silph Co. He and Sabrina had their hands more than full with their current predicament.

Metal Mewtwo had just fired a rainbow-colored Psybeam at them, apparently unconcerned with the rules of Pokémon battles prohibiting attacks on the trainers. As such, Gary and Sabrina found themselves ducking behind two of the few unplucked trees. Fortunately, Alakazam had managed to use Light Screen, which had reflected the Psybeam into the sky where it narrowly missed a passing flock of Pidgeys. But their aggressor didn't seem likely to wait for its turn before attacking again.

"Get away from here," Sabrina hissed. "It's too dangerous."

Gary smirked. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Go, Gengar!"

Beside Alakazam materialized a shadowy, dark purple creature with intense scarlet eyes and a wide, pearly white smile.

"Confuse Ray!"

The Ghost Pokémon obligingly caused a series of unnatural black and white flashes, directing them at Metal Mewtwo. But the move seemed to have no effect on it.

"Figures," Gary muttered.

Another custom their enemy seemed to disregard was that of naming the attack it was about to use. It Teleported behind Gary's Gengar and swiped with the black energy of a Shadow Claw. Gengar plunged forward onto his face, shimmering with pain. The metal Smasher floated forward to finish him off….

"Hyper Beam!"

A super-concentrated orange beam shot from Alakazam's spoons, pushing Metal Mewtwo all the way into the wall of a nearby Pokémart. It continued driving against the doppelganger so that all that could be seen was a mass of smoking energy. Surely that would be the end of it.

And, of course, it wasn't. Metal Mewtwo had used Telekinesis of its own to direct the Hyper Beam everywhere except itself, reducing half the Pokémart to rubble for naught. Clearly peeved, it summoned an unusually large Shadow Ball and heaved it toward the source of the Hyper Beam.

This was highly unfortunate for Alakazam, for not only was it highly susceptible to Dark attacks, but it was temporarily incapacitated because of the energy required to launch the Hyper Beam. It took the Shadow Ball square in the chest, toppling over and fainting instantly.

But that wasn't the worst of it. Sabrina shared an intimate psychological connection with her Pokémon, and when Alakazam went out, she collapsed beside Gary, shaking violently and moaning with her head in her hands.

"Sabrina, get up!" Gary made a futile attempt to snap her out of her mental agony, then turned back to the situation at hand. "That's it. Gengar, Double Team!"

A dozen hallucinatory Gengars branched out from their original, rising into the air and surrounding Metal Mewtwo. It struck out at a few of them, but met only with empty space.

"Now, use Nightshade!"

The entire square was plunged into pitch darkness for several awful seconds, the noise and chaos carrying on as if nothing had changed. Then, a circle of shimmering, midnight blue waves shot from each of the remaining Gengars, converging on their target in the center while simultaneously returning the light with a bright flash.

"Yeah, take that!" Gary punched the air with his fist, seeing that Metal Mewtwo was gone.

Then it Teleported directly in front of Gary, appeared to consider him with its blank metal eyes, and executed the most dreaded of intangible attacks: Psychic.

Gengar, being part Poison, went down first, fainting as quickly as Alakazam had. Gary yelled and fell to his knees; he could think of nothing else but the excruciating pain battering his mind like a brain in a blender. Before he went out, he felt Sabrina's hand on his head, bringing a short relief, then heard her final scream and fell forward into the grass, his eyes closing upon the image of Sabrina's blank expression as blood trickled down her face. An image that would remain etched in his memory for as long as he lived.

* * *

Red deeply regretted forgetting to bring additional Pokémon with him on that Squirtle float. There had been countless times since then that he'd reprimanded himself for his thoughtlessness, but until this was all over and he could get to a Pokémon Center, there was nothing he could do about it.

Upon arriving at the Silph Co. entrance, Pichu made surprisingly short work of the line of Wire Frames barring their way by Skull Bashing his way across the threshold. Red followed behind with a thick bare tree branch he'd found, clubbing a male Frame's back as he stepped inside, Jigglypuff bringing up the rear.

Silph Co. wasn't like the Pokémon Gym or most other structures; the company was so strictly business-oriented that even its headquarters maintained an extremely dull, formal appearance. Even if there hadn't been an unending line of foes for them to deal with, in this case, Red and the others really wouldn't have had anything to appreciate anyways.

"Piiichu!"

"You're right, they _are_ coming from the basement floors. I was going to go help the people upstairs, but…" Red brought his stick down hard upon a female Frame's head, knocking it flat. "…I think we can best help them by going to the source of the problem."

"Puff!" Jigglypuff sang all the Wire Frames presently in the room to sleep, allowing them a few seconds to finish their discussion.

Red sighed. "I know it seems counterintuitive to go _towards_ the things trying to kill us. But if we don't, we let Master Hand take the city." He kicked a row of Wireframes ascending the stairs from the basement, creating a domino effect. "And I can't let that happen."

Jigglypuff's Rollout allowed them to descend to B1 basically unhindered. They fought their way down two more flights of winding stairs to B3—the bottom floor—through a combination of Red's bludgeon and Pichu's well-directed Thunderbolts, which projected bolts of blue lightning through the Wire Frames' hearts, rupturing them and thereby terminating their hosts.

And then, for some reason, the Wire Frames stopped coming. Red trod warily through the dim basement, past tall rows of filing cabinets and dusty cardboard boxes. It looked like nothing more than a storage room, but then how were the Wire Frames entering the building?

A low purring sound came from behind them. A familiar purr, one that Red thought he'd never hear again.

Yet there she was: Persian, a pompous white feline with a gold coin on her forehead. And although Red couldn't say for sure, he had a sinking suspicion that he knew exactly who her owner was.

The Persian led them around the corner and jumped into the arms of a tall man in a dark business suit. His eyes were hidden under the brim of a formal gray hat, but his sinister smile was in plain sight. The man stroked his loyal Pokémon affectionately, while Persian had them fixed in a condescending glare.

"Well, Red," said Giovanni. "It's been a long time."

* * *

Ness's body hurt all over. As he rested on a cot in a dark, musty chamber, he vaguely recalled the recent traumatic events of their second escape attempt. Had they made it out? Or had Master Hand's cronies simply carried them back to their cells? At any rate, the tender burns on his arms and neck left no small impression on his current emotional state. He began to cry, wishing he'd never left the safety of Onett to go to that stupid Pokéfloat Festival. If he'd just stayed with Paula and Jeff and Poo, none of these terrible things would be happening to him. Would he ever see his home again?

Then he noticed another cot nearby. Although it was dark, he quickly recognized Mario, even with his hat off and his face bruised and cut. That was when he realized they couldn't be in Master Hand's Fortress, for not only were there no windows or stone walls (they looked like the boarded walls of a mineshaft), but the cells had all held single occupants. If they weren't there, though…then where were they?

Suddenly, a sharp rap sounded from behind the steel door on the opposite end. As it opened, a light bulb that dangled from the ceiling lit up, and a most peculiar individual entered the room.

She was at least seven feet tall, her head just a couple feet below the ceiling. Ness couldn't help but notice the visitor's intimidating muscular body, garbed in a sleek white top with short, dark blue sleeves and similarly colored leggings. The woman sported battered, gleaming armor on her arms and shins, although for some reason Ness felt that she wore it even when there was little or no chance of a fight. And her dark, blood-orange eyes—combined with a thick red scar running down one side of her weathered face, pointed ears, and short white hair that had one long strand hanging down in the front—made her appear for all intents and purposes like an angel straight from Hell.

When he accidentally made eye contact with her, Ness had half a mind to dive back into his sheets and pretend to not exist, but he knew it was too late for that.

"How are you feeling, friend?" Her deep voice somehow immediately caused Ness to relax. Probably because this was the type of person he would much rather have as a "friend" than anything else.

"Ok."

She smiled slightly. "You can call me Impa."

"Ness," he responded, almost being flung off the bed by her iron handshake.

"We know very well who you are, Ness. In fact, your arrival and that of your two friends is something we have awaited for a long time."

He was about to ask the first of his many questions when Mario began to stir. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, the plumber sat up and, at the sight of Impa five feet in front of him, had about the same reaction as Ness.

"Mario, it's good to see you awake."

Although his mind was practically overflowing with queries, one shoved its way to the forefront and out of Ness's mouth. "Where's Marth?"

Impa's smile faded. "He's alive. But the wound he sustained from what I presume was Metal Bowser's claw has left him in critical condition. We are doing all we can to ensure his recovery in the infirmary."

She turned to address both of them. "I imagine you have a lot of questions. There is much to be said and done, but for now I want you two to take it easy for at least a couple days."

Neither of them objected. They both felt like they'd been thrown off a 100-foot building. Probably because they had.

"When you jumped out of the Fortress, one of our allies was able to soften your fall just before you hit the ground. We are currently well below Master Hand's Room in a tunnel that leads from a loose floorboard behind the Room's giant entertainment center all the way to Fourside City. It is a passage that predates any of us, but whatever its original purposes were, it now serves us well both as a means of travel and, further down from where we are now, as headquarters."

"Headquarters for a-what?" Mario managed to ask, his curiosity temporarily overriding his exhaustion.

Impa pushed the strand of white hair out of her face. "I'll get to that. But first you must know why you have been brought here: Master Hand, we believe, intends to transform all of the participants of his Smash Tournaments into a life-sized trophy collection."

Ness blinked, feeling a bit dizzy. Of course. Mario; Princess Peach; Nana; Falco; Pikachu; Marth; Princess Zelda; Link; himself. All of them had fought in Master Hand's tournament. Nothing else could explain the connection between those who had been abducted.

"Ever since the first tournament, many have been unsettled by Master Hand's unexplained presence in our world. We have been discreetly watching his movements, doing everything possible to find out who he is and what he has planned. Though on the former objective we have not as yet made much headway, the latter one has seen significant progress. Our scouts have gleaned enough to know, for example, that Master Hand has access to incredible technologies well beyond anything in the Nintendo World. With these contraptions, he creates his Wire Frame armies, transforms individuals into trophies as you have unfortunately seen, and even forged metal clones of each of the 25 tournament participants, whom we refer to as the Original 25. We suspect Master Hand organized his tournaments for this purpose: to collect DNA samples from each of you to create these beings.

"We have also tracked the appearances of the clones across the Nintendo World, as well as that of the Wire Frames. A widespread assault has already begun, and we believe we are on the brink of a full-on invasion."

"So…who are you, and what is this group you keep talking about?" Ness asked.

"I am one of the ancient Sheikah race that hails from the kingdom of Hyrule. For many generations, we have been charged with protecting the royal family, up until the living Princess Zelda of our day. But when I received word of Master Hand's plot, I knew I would have to expand my role if I am to guarantee the princess any lasting safety from the tremendous events that are beginning to be put into motion. I have concluded that I must be a guardian of not only Hyrule, but of our entire world.

"And that," Impa said, "is why I formed this resistance movement: The Smash Brothers."


	8. Chapter 7: A Grim Prognosis (1)

Chapter 7: A Grim Prognosis

* * *

 _ **D**_ r. Andonuts's "lab" consisted of the basement of one of Onett's vacant suburban houses. Vacant was a loose term, though, since the property was owned by the doctor and the floor above was generally used whenever he and his son were visiting.

Once the local authorities had cleared them to leave the scene of the Starman attack (it hadn't taken long; the police did not feel confident enough to require more from the strange group than a reassurance that they did not intend to cause any more destruction beyond the block that had already been laid waste), Jeff led Paula, Poo, Captain Falcon, Bowser (who carried the unconscious Ganondorf), DK, Diddy, Tiny, Lanky, and Chunky to his father's temporary residence.

Upon reaching the lab, the first order of business had been to ensure the town's continued safety from Ganondorf, who would most certainly not be in a good mood when he came to. Accordingly, Paula and Poo placed a particularly potent PSI Hypnosis upon the villain, which would hopefully keep him quelled at least until the foreigners departed.

Despite the dire straits in which they found themselves, the professor could not help but show off the various whirligigs and doodads and gadgets he'd been working on. The spacious basement was filled with metal contraptions and electric synapses and, most noticeably, a crew of small, plushy, pig-like creatures with large whiskered noses, which scurried about with machine parts like an industrious hive of worker bees.

"I really don't know what I would do without the Mr. Saturns to assist me," Dr. Andonuts said, leading them across the room. He looked somewhat reminiscent of Professor E. Gadd, except with a fuller face and figure, small clear lenses, a white comb-like mustache, and two tufts of Eintstein-esque hair. "Together, along with Apple Kid, we've accomplished some marvelous things. This, however, I believe shall prove to be the apex of my life's work."

They reached the end, where what appeared to be an enormous, steel Mr. Saturn with a black target decal stood on a short dais. It was a marvel the thing fit—just barely—inside the basement, its "head" almost scraping the ceiling.

"A giant pig?" Bowser said skeptically.

Andonuts laughed. "Oh, no, my spiny friend. This here's the long-awaited, incredibly ingenious Phase Distorter 4!"

"Wow," Paula, Poo, and Jeff said, breathless.

Diddy Kong wandered up to the hull and tapped on it, which resulted in a hollow metallic echo. "What's it do?"

Jeff jumped on the question before his father could respond. "Oh, not much. It only bends space and time like a piece of paper and allows the user to travel anywhere, anytime almost instantly."

Now everyone's interest was piqued. "So we can use this to go home?" Tiny Kong asked.

Andonuts nodded. "But first, we need to talk. What you saw today…well, let's just say we've seen our fair share of unusual happenings here in Eagleland, but such a sudden ambush of Starmen, especially with their strange message and with Giygas defeated…it's never happened before."

"Who's this Master Hand guy, anyway?" Paula said. "The Starmen have never followed anyone's orders except Giygas…."

"We don't know much more than you do," Captain Falcon said. "But Master Hand is that giant floating glove you've probably seen on TV who hosts the Smash Tournaments. He wants us to gather in his domain for who-knows-what-reason, though I've got a feeling it's not for his birthday party."

"If the Starmen work for him," Poo said, "it cannot be good."

"Chunky, that's not food. Spit it out!"

Tiny had to jump and cuff the back of the gorilla's head to get his attention; he turned around inquisitively with what did, indeed, look like a human-sized apple sticking out of his mouth—only this apple appeared to be wearing overalls that were kicking in protest from within the monkey's maw. He reluctantly relinquished his jaw's grip on Apple Kid's head, which popped out with a desperate gasp, slimy from its recent entrapment. His chubby body and red "apple stem" cap made a dangerously appetizing combination for a famished Kong. With no intent of repeating this interaction or anything like unto it, he scurried away to find something to tinker with.

"But…but I'm so hungry," Chunky complained. "Haven't eaten since we left the jungle!"

"Here," Poo said, handing him a couple kabobs. He ate them both with one swallow.

Andonuts cleared his throat. "As we were saying, with Master Hand recruiting the likes of the Starmen, this is an issue that will likely concern all of us, whether we live on Earth or anywhere else. What's more, we have grown seriously worried about Ness; the festival has been over for quite some time, yet we have not heard a word from him. He should have been back by now, which makes me think all this Master Hand business has something to do with it. As such, I must insist on my son accompanying you on your journey."

"What?" Jeff couldn't help but stare at Bowser's scaly, monstrous claws. "Dad! Why me?"

"You know how to operate the Phase Distorter, and I am confident you can help these fine folks find Ness."

Bowser was about to point out that he didn't give a flying Fuzzy about finding Ness, but Paula interrupted his attempt to speak.

"Jeff's right, Professor. He'll need all our help to get to the bottom of this." She glanced at Poo, who nodded in understanding.

"Ness is my friend and my leader. I am his servant and am duty-bound to protect him. I shall come."

"So it's settled, then," Dr. Andonuts said as the Mr. Saturns began to start up the Phase Distorter 4, opening the hatch into a (thankfully) spacious interior—even for the eleven passengers that would soon fill it. Soon the machine was warmed up and vibrating as if in excitement for its maiden voyage.

Without further ado, they filed into the odd vessel, Jeff bringing up the rear. Before he entered, his father put a hand on his shoulder. "Travel safe, Jeff. Make sure you use the correct spatial and temporal coordinates; otherwise, who knows what could happen…."

Jeff nodded and pushed the button to seal the hatch behind him. Inside, it was clear the Phase Distorter 4 was built for comfort: plush, red-cushioned seats, headrests, seatbelts, air conditioning, even cupholders—the professor had spared no expense on this renovated invention.

Everyone took a seat, except for those who didn't fit in one seat, in which case they took two or three. Captain Falcon strapped the sleeping Ganondorf into the seat next to him and gave Jeff the thumbs up. "We're good to go."

The boy genius attended to a series of buttons and dials at the front of the craft. "Where to?"

"Master Hand's Room," DK said.

"And no time travel, please," Tiny added.

Jeff typed the information into small touch screen keyboard, above which a screen displayed a map of the desired destination and the caption "Present Day."

"Here we go," he said, preparing to activate a red switch that would send them on their way. "Three…two…one… _what are you doing?"_

It was just like Lanky Kong to shake things up just when everything appeared to be going smoothly. What he intended as a wide stretch of his freakishly long arms became a serious issue as he brushed against Jeff's elbow and the keyboard, making some last-second modifications.

But it was too late to correct the changes. The sealed pod, from the outside, appeared to collapse in on itself and vanish like a rock into a pond, leaving behind an immaterial splash of hazy air.

Within, bright multicolored lights flashed like an LSD-induced hippy concert. If any of them hadn't been fazed before by the Falcon Flyer excursion, this one made up for it. They felt like they were in an elevator moving in every direction at once, pulling at the fabric of the universe and threatening to rip them and all rational thoughts apart. This lasted for about thirty incoherent seconds, then left them all in pitch blackness.

No one made a move or a sound for a full minute.

Finally, Jeff's shaky voice: "Uh…well…that was a little rough. Let's find out where we are."

The hatch opened, letting in an onslaught of dull rust-colored light. For some reason, no one wanted to get out. Being the first one out of a time machine that has ended up at an unknown destination does not tend to appeal to many. Ironically, the same curiosity that had led Lanky's companions into so much trouble already was what compelled him to clamber out of his seat and lead the way into the outside world.

Wasteland. The flat landscape extending to the horizon was covered in a red dust that gave the initial impression of a failed colony on Mars. The charred remains of skyscrapers dotted the land like a field of black half-finished ladders. The sky glowed a sickly yellow, but no warmth came from it—only cold. The air smelled of ash and rot and death.

As each descended out of the Phase Distorter and was rendered speechless, all that could be heard was a soft, eerie wind that ruffled hair and fur like some kind of restless, undead breeze. Paula turned to Jeff, fear written all over her expression.

"Where are we, Jeff?"

The boy seemed almost unwilling to answer. "It's…it's Fourside City. Six months in the future."

A shout of rage sounded from within the pod, and Ganondorf strode down the ramp, intent on only one thing: the girl's demise. That is, until he caught sight of the view.

"We're in a post-apocalyptic future," Bowser explained in anticipation of the Gerudo's question. He looked toward Jeff. "My question is, can that hunka junk get us out of here, or are we stuck?"

"We should be fine," he said. "The orangutan merely nudged the control panel, shifting the time and place settings a bit. If the Phase Distorter was broken, we'd know."

"But…." Diddy, like several of the others, was still lost in the overwhelming gloom of what they were seeing. "How did this happen?"

"I think we all know the answer to that," DK said, recalling the foreboding instructions from the ghost of his Grandma Wrinkly.

Captain Falcon narrowed his eyes at the dismal sky. "Master Hand."

Some ten minutes later, they were all back in their seats, only this time Lanky was positioned as far away from the controls as possible. Ganondorf had initially considered killing all except those he needed to gain entrance to Master Hand's Room right then and there—especially Paula—but something about the lifeless landscape had somehow disturbed even him: The King of Evil. Seldom had he ever felt so impacted by something he had seen—by a derelict future world he was inexplicably sure he had not caused. He decided for now that there were bigger fish to fry, that Master Hand seemed to be a greater threat to his power than any of these insignificant fools. He would wait, then. Patience would yield his ultimate reward.

Once Jeff had the machine up and running, he reset the time and location with precision, sealed the door, and pressed the red button.

This journey progressed much like the last one had: the flashing lights, the confusing motion, the heavy vibrations. But then, something new happened: If the time machine was comparable to an elevator, then it felt as if they had run it straight into a brick wall and bounced off in the opposite direction. The violent lurch would have thrown all of them out of their seats had they not been strapped in. Bowser nearly vomited; he was not accustomed to all of this jarring space travel, and he silently vowed that once it was in his power to decide, he would never do so again.

A few more seconds of rattling and flashing, and once again they came to a halt.

This time, the hatch let in a bright wave of sunshine, although it did not seem quite right for two reasons: First, they could hear a howling wind and feel the first gusts of it rush into the Phase Distorter; and second, they still felt like they were moving.

Captain Falcon led the wobbly procession down the ramp into possibly the least expected possible environment.

They were on a giant, flying wooden ship, complete with white dove-like wings in place of oars. Most significantly, looking over the side, the Captain discovered they were thousands of feet in the air, for he could hardly see the surface at all. Cheerful clouds paraded through a benign blue sky, and all around the ship were an array of colorful objects that he couldn't make out.

"Yeah…let's go back inside."

He was about to herd everyone back into the Phase Distorter when the unthinkable happened: It rattled, it shook, it blared unpleasant noises, and right after Jeff stepped out of the hatch, it folded in on itself and disappeared.

Jeff groaned. "Well, that's just great. So much for reliable technology. I'm going to have a serious conversation with my dad after all this. It appears the Phase Distorter 4 has malfunctioned; wherever this Master Hand's Room really is, I think it has some kind of barrier that protects it from time and space travel, and because we tried to penetrate it, we rebounded and ended up here. Where _is_ here, anyway?"

Bowser grinned. At the moment, he was the only one who felt at home. "Welcome back to the Nintendo World. This, my friends, is the Rainbow Ride."

* * *

Mario felt much better now. Two days' rest really did make a world of difference, and although the Smash Brothers cuisine was not exactly gourmet (it consisted of whatever the members could scrounge from Fourside City to the southeast), he was almost back to his full strength and ready to kick Master Hand in the…well…hand.

On the morning of the third day, he and Ness were shown out of the residential tunnels for the first time by a mute but friendly Waddle Dee (a reddish-brown, Kirby-like creature). Their first stop, however, was another bedroom.

A young woman with pink hair, a medical cap, and a white apron-dress looked up from a computer screen on which she had been tracking Marth's vitals. She smiled warmly.

"I was wondering when you'd come visit," Nurse Joy said. "He's asleep, but you can stay if you'd like."

Mario and Ness took a seat on plastic chairs in the small whitewashed infirmary. Assorted medical equipment filled most of the space, with Marth himself lying in a bed in the middle, his torso heavily bandaged but rising and falling with each slow breath. What looked like a pink egg the size of oil barrel wandered about the room, making sure everything was in order with the swordsman's care.

"Chansey!" the Pokémon said cheerfully.

They sat there and watched Marth sleep for a few minutes.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Ness asked.

The nurse nodded. "The lacerations on his back were very deep. He won't be jumping out of buildings again anytime soon, but he seems to be recovering well."

At that moment, the Waddle Dee appeared in the doorway, bringing someone else with him. He waved to them and wandered away, leaving them with the new arrival.

It was a boy, no older than 16 or 17, garbed in a white tunic with golden armbands, leather Greek sandals, a laurel wreath set upon ruffled brown hair, and—most remarkably—feathery angelic wings. He carried the golden Sacred Bow on his back.

"Good to see you're all still standing…er…" He glanced at Marth. "…breathing, anyways."

Mario and Ness stared at him blankly, their minds still absorbed in what had happened to Marth.

The boy scratched his head and laughed. "Sorry; I forgot we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Pit. I was the one who stopped you guys from falling to your deaths." He appeared a bit sheepish about declaring his recent heroics. "I mean, I'm sure you would've been fine. I was just doing some routine scouting and saw you jump out of the fortress, so…."

Mario shook his head, giving him a firm handshake. "You a-saved us."

"Yeah." Ness stood and reached up to shake the angel's hand as well. "I thought we were done for. Thanks a bunch!"

"Don't mention it." He stood there awkwardly for a second, appearing to deliberate whether to say more. "I'll understand if you don't want to talk about it…but I was wondering…what happened up there?" It was obvious he'd been waiting to ask them since they had first awoken from their fall. Impa must have had a hand in keeping their recovery uninterrupted by visitors.

The two Smashers hesitated for a moment. Then, together, they took turns recounting from the beginning how they had been attacked by their metal counterparts; how they had spent an indiscriminate amount of time in dingy cells; how their initial escape attempt had availed half of their fellow inmates in obtaining their freedom—

"—Wait, there were more of you?" Pit's incredulous expression betrayed his youthful curiosity that was, admittedly, more intrigued by the dramatic nature of these events than by their seriousness.

Mario had been about to explain further when from behind Pit, Impa stepped into the small infirmary. Nurse Joy and Chansey confined themselves to their corner with the computer, interested in the escapees' story but unaccustomed to having so many people in their little station at once, and hoping this wouldn't become a regular thing.

"Mario; Ness; I am glad you are well. I want to hear the whole story of what you have experienced. Indeed, all of us do."

"All of us?" Ness asked.

"Yes. It is time you officially meet the Smash Brothers. There is much for us to learn from each other before we make further plans."

"How a-many of these Smash a-Brothers are there?" For some reason, Mario had never considered exactly how much support had already been amassed against Master Hand.

Pit grinned. "Just you wait."

Twenty minutes of tunnel-traveling later, Impa and Pit led them into an enormous underground chamber. It had the appearance of a spacious restaurant with an amphitheater-like stage on one end, the entire room lit by clusters of Banana Fairies (which resembled bananas much as Apple Kid resembled an apple, except tiny and with wings that emitted blue sparks). The rocky walls served as a reminder of their subterranean location—in case the musty air wasn't enough. Dozens of wooden tables and chairs ringed the platform, their occupants so diverse as to merit their own descriptive paragraph.

It was really too much for Mario and Ness to take in. They marveled at the host of different species represented in the room—from Toads to Cappies, pointy-eared Hylians to humans, anthropomorphic animals (from the Lylat System and other regions, although the two heroes could hardly have known this) to individuals so strange-looking that they really had no clue what to make of them. All in all, it was an impressive gathering for such a relatively small space; Mario would guess there were some 150 to 200 people present. And now, as Impa led them down to the bottom of the amphitheater, every eye turned to him and his fellow Smasher.

After what seemed like an interminable walk, they finally stopped in the middle of the stage; Impa's mere presence quickly converted the crowd of chattering voices into a hushed, attentive silence. She seemed to merit respect from them not as some sort of showy, charismatic leader, but as a fearless, no-nonsense warrior.

"As you may have heard," she began, addressing the Smash Brothers, "three of the Original 25 have escaped from Master Hand's clutches, thanks to the singular bravery of Kid Icarus."

Pit, who had taken a seat among a table of human warriors, blushed as the assemblage applauded him, his neighbor jovially slapping him on the back.

"Marth of Akaneia is unable to join us tonight, as he is in recovery from the event; however, we have with us Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom and Ness of Eagleland, who have graciously agreed to share their recent experiences with our brotherhood." She nodded at the two of them, stepping back into the shadowy edge of the stage.

Being more accustomed to public reception than the PSI boy, Mario took the lead in describing what had happened to them since they were first abducted. He again reached the part where half of the inmates had escaped as a result of their first break for freedom when a near uproar of excited and inquisitive voices from the audience prevented him from giving the details they were no doubt asking for.

"Who else escaped? Are they here?"

"Why aren't we looking for them? They could still be in danger!'

"Maybe they've already been recaptured—or worse!"

"QUIET!" Impa's penetrating shout put an end to the overlapping questions and speculations. Though she sounded harsh, she could hardly hide her clear—if impatient—satisfaction with the welcome news. "It is well known to us now that four more of the Original 25 have indeed escaped the Room and the Battlefields. Just this morning, Professor Frankly in Fourside informed me that Link and Princess Zelda of Hyrule, Falco Lombardi of Lylat, and Nana of the Icicle Mountains have made contact. We shall be meeting up with them soon, but please, let our friends continue."

Mario went on to elaborate their horrible experience with Master Hand's machine that transformed first Pikachu, then Peach into helpless trophies. His scarcely suppressed emotion established a solemn mood among the Smash Brothers as he finished with how he, Ness, and Marth ended up crashing through the stained-glass window, connecting the dots to Pit's airborne interception.

You could have heard a pin drop in the still seconds that followed the story's conclusion. And, indeed, a pink-spotted Toad with rosy pigtails leaned over discreetly to pick up her misplaced hairpin.

"Thank you, Mario. Thank you, Ness," Impa said finally. "We are honored to welcome you among our ranks—that is, should you choose to do so."

"Of course," they both said at once. Though their imprisonment was behind them, they knew their ordeal with Master Hand was far from over, and an organization like this was more than they could have ever hoped for.

Once the formalities were over, Mario and Ness found themselves thronged by Smash Bros members anxious to meet them. Mario recognized the pink Toad, Toadette, but could not recognize anyone else, even those from his own kingdom. He wondered whether they had allies beyond those within this room.

"We have eyes and ears in every corner of the Nintendo World," Impa answered as she later consulted with him in a less crowded corner of the chamber. "Many of whom are now in the Great Fourside City, awaiting the gathering of the Original 25. Several of them are friends of yours, I believe: Professor Frankly and his assistants, for one; Professor E. Gadd should be arriving soon; and Wario and Waluigi as well."

"Yes," Mario said, recalling the last Mario Kart Grand Prix in which he and his brother had ridden together against their greedy rivals, narrowly dodging a hailstorm of Bob-ombs. "Friends…."

Meanwhile, Ness found himself directed to a table at which were seated two very unusual beings. One had the appearance of an extremely fat penguin dressed in a kingly red coat, a V-neck sweater underneath with a red-and-yellow triangle design, and a matching red-and-gold cap. He had his arm around a huge wooden mallet as tall as he was, caressing it as if it were his date.

"Well, howdy-doo," King Dedede said, patting Ness roughly on the head. "Look like we've got here a bona fide boy genius!" He leaned in close and whispered, "Say, you wanna do old King Dedede a favor? I've got me a menace back in Dreamland by the name of Kirby—"

"—The only menace in Dreamland is your supreme idiocy…my king."

The other stranger looked like a giant blueberry with bat wings, a purple cape, white-gloved hands, and a metal mask behind which glowed two enigmatic yellow eyes. His voice was far deeper than Ness would have expected.

But the King was not amused. "Aw yeah? And just how d'you figger that?" He already seemed to have forgotten Ness's presence.

"Simple. Almost every time our world is enshrouded by darkness, it is because one of your delusional schemes to get power goes awry. The case with Nightmare and the Fountain of Dreams is perhaps the quintessential example—"

"Now see here, ya creepy crusader." Dedede stroked his hammer affectionately. "You'd betta watch your mouth, or my wooden friend here'll be schedulin' an appointment with your face!"

"Oh?" From out of nowhere, Meta Knight drew a shining gold sword that looked like a jet of flames was shooting out of the ruby-studded hilt. Galaxia. "And are you prepared to back up those words with action?"

King Dedede was not, of course. As much as he detested the knight's allegiance to his longtime enemy/nuisance Kirby, he knew only too well how capable the Star Warrior was with a sword. He backed down and conveniently transitioned the focus of the conversation back to Ness.

Mario now sat with two equally unusual but much less contentious comrades. One was, for all intents and purposes, a giant lemon drop with limbs and a face, his mouth hanging open like a three-dimensional pie graph.

"Mario, I'm glad you made it here; your reputation proceeds you."

"Yours as a-well, Pac-man. What a-brings you a-here to the Smash a-Brothers?"

It did not appear possible for the pellet-eating character to smile any wider, but somehow, he did. "Same as you. Where I come from, there's always some sort of baddies to be outdone. Only, it's a lot harder to win if you're outnumbered." He bounced a little in his seat. "But when a bunch of _us_ get together against a bunch of _them?_ That's when it gets fun."

Mario was about to ask where exactly Pac-man came from when the other occupant of their table distracted him by waving his pink, spherical hands in the plumber's face. He had a blue, teardrop-shaped body with a black belt, white noodle-like arms, and a head that looked like a white television set with a cream-colored screen and two tall black bars for eyes. He continued gesturing congenially, clearly trying to communicate something to Mario, but did not utter a sound.

"Oh, that's Bomberman," Pac-man said. "He says he's watched all of your tournament matches and would really like a match sometime. He doesn't talk, but he's pretty cool."

"Yes, of a-course."

For the first time since his fateful stand against Metal Mario, the Jumpman smiled. He could get used to this. Indeed, for the first time in a long while, he felt safe among friends—both old and new. For the first time since he lost his princess, he felt at home.

* * *

"Where are we, Professor?"

Roy felt particularly uneasy about flying in E. Gadd's hovercraft—even without the thick fog that was obscuring their path. It whirred like the motor of an antiquated lawnmower with some kind of mechanical emphysema, but it still somehow carried them smoothly over the misty Twilight Forest at a steady clip. Yet with all of its technological sophistication, the hovercraft's yellow floodlight barely penetrated a few meters in front of them.

"I'm afraid we're lost, lads," the professor admitted. "If I had to guess, King Boo and his ilk conjured up this fog as a last ditch effort to keep us from gettin' where we need to go. Hopefully it won't be too long before—"

"What's that?" Fox pointed ahead to where a cluster of indistinguishable shapes on the ground awaited as they reached the western edge of the forest and, fortunately, the fog began to thin out.

"Well, I'll be…." E. Gadd seemed to consider something for a moment. "Hm. I was hoping to take a more direct route through Akaneia, but I suppose this'll do as…Gadzooks!" He noticed the fuel gauge on his hovercraft was nearly at empty. "How could we have gone through that much so fast? Must've been those blasted Boos siphoning it off with the mist….Alright, young'uns, you just hang on real tight while I find us a soft crash spot."

 _Soft crash spot?_ Roy thought. _How does_ that _work?_

From his steering position at the front, Gadd carefully lowered them down to the tree line. But as he did so, the engine began sputtering and jolting them like a coughing bumper car. Unlike Fox and Samus, Roy held on to his seat for dear life, praying to the Divine Dragons that he would survive the day.

After what was in reality comparable to a mild rollercoaster but to Roy felt like riding an angry Wyvern, their spiraling descent came to a jarring halt, scraping and bouncing off the grassy ground several times before it completely stopped.

"Right, then," Gadd said, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. He pulled out a phone and selected a speed dial, waiting a few seconds for an answer.

"Hello? Yes, this is Elvin. How are you, Theodore? Good. Yes, I'm well myself. Say, we're stranded at the edge of the woods just outside Mute City. You wanna do this old geezer a huge favor? You will? Much obliged, my friend. Ok. Yes. I'll see you soon. Bye now."

He hung up and turned to his passengers. "Just sit tight, now; our fellow Smash Brother will be along in a jiffy to pick us up."

Less than two minutes later, what looked like a slice off the top of a yellow submarine hovered over to them, the cockpit opening to allow the pilot inside to step down. He was a rather fat, middle-aged, balding man in a yellow jumpsuit with painfully bright red boots, dark shades, and some sort of mechanism on his chest that was attached to two robotic arms extending over his shoulders like Doc-Ock.

He laughed in an unmistakably Santa Claus-like manner and enveloped the tiny professor in a jolly bear hug. "Elvin, I was beginning to think I wouldn't see you until the tournament. Climb on in, and I'll take you an' your buds to my place."

Samus eyed up the small cockpit of the Crazy Bear, which really wasn't big enough even for its own pilot. "Um…that's not gonna happen."

Dr. Clash realized what the bounty hunter was getting at and laughed again. "Don't be silly, Ms. Aran. I'm gonna tow you back; it's not far."

* * *

When Dr. Clash said he would take them to "his place," most of them didn't expect he meant the bar where he worked. Yet here they were, near the edge of the futuristic Mute City, drinking martinis in a sleek cobalt booth. Again—E. Gadd, Fox, and Samus were not particularly bothered by the poorly lit parlor; the animalic aliens; the bass-booming music; the death-defying races taking place on wall-sized plasma screens; or the menu that consisted primarily of living, crawling insects marinated in all manner of exotic sauces. But for Roy, he might as well have taken up lodgings in the haunted mansion considering his current level of discomfort. But he decided he'd just will himself to bear through it.

Gadd and Clash exchanged some idle chatter until two outfitted racers joined them at the table—one in a muscled yellow jumpsuit with a scarlet ascot and swoosh-like hairdo, the other a tall brunette in a red-and-pink uniform who looked vaguely familiar to the Smashers, though they could not tell from where.

"Jody Summer of the Galactic Space Federation," the woman said, shaking everyone's hands and taking a seat along with the man. "I cannot tell you how pleased I am to meet some of the Captain's challengers at last."

"What brings you to Mute City?" the man asked. "I thought the plan was for you to beeline it through Akaneia straight to the hotel."

"Yes," Gadd said with a sigh. "But we ran into some, er…complications along the way, and I'm afraid my hovercraft'll be out of commission until I can whip up a new batch of premium fuel."

"We've got just about everything here, Professor," Clash said. "I'm sure we can find whatever you need and get you on your way back into the air in no time."

"Oh, but it's a very special blend," said Gadd. "You see, it requires a touch of the supernatural—a trace of ghostly essence, as it were—to sustain the Poltergust-modeled engine. I had it specially made so I could catch Boos on the go…and so that I could get some superb gas mileage out of her."

Fox took a sip from his drink. "Well, so much for that."

Gadd gave Dr. Clash a meaningful look. "I think you know what that means, Theodore."

But Clash seemed reluctant to acknowledge it. "Plan B. I still don't think it's a good idea. You'd be putting yourselves in an obscene amount of unnecessary danger. There has been a lot of dirty racing on the track lately—"

"—We're all in the business of taking risks, here, Doctor," Gadd said. "The likelihood of Master Hand making his move before we get there is too high. We've gotta hightail it to Fourside with all due haste. Besides, I understand the three of you came prepared to outfit us for the track should the need arise?"

Clash, Summer, and Dr. Stewart (the man with the ascot) glanced at each other.  
"Of course, Professor," Summer said. "While the Federation was unwilling to directly involve itself in the affairs of the Nintendo World, thanks to a little…persuasion…they are quite happy to turn a bit of a blind eye to a few unregistered racers."

Dr. Clash frowned. "Even so, in spite of Jody getting our friends the clear to ride, there are the regulations to consider. The track is strictly to be used for races—nothing more. I've secured you three places between Jody and Robert in tomorrow's course that will take you right into the heart of Fourside, but even if you hang behind the leaders, there's no guarantee there won't be some unregistered scoundrels looking to nab unsuspecting racers. People have died on these tracks, and I wonder if you can't just find yourselves a nice shuttle to carry you safely there."

"All public transportation is closed on race days, Theodore," Gadd said. "To walk across Akaneia at this point is out of the question; it's too dangerous with all the wild Manaketes and who-knows-what-else lurking about. What's more, it is far more likely that Master Hand has infiltrated Akaneia than Mute City; we'll just have to deal with common low-lives, at worst. And that's why Jody and Robert are accompanying us, after all. No, the F-Zero course is the best way; I have confidence that we will all arrive in one piece."

Stewart eyed up Fox, Samus, and Roy. "Still, Theodore's got a point. McCloud and Aran I can see getting the hang of it pretty quickly, but the boy…."

Roy was too concerned by the lime green eyeball in his bowl of soup—which he could have sworn had just winked up at him—to take offense at whatever indirect insult Stewart had just made. He very much wished Link were here to share his sense of alienation.

"Roy will ride with me," Gadd said. "I instructed Theodore to design mine to seat two. My scrawny self doesn't take up much space anyhow."

Stewart nodded. It was a sound plan. That is, if you overlooked the fact that they were going to….

"Hold it," Samus said. She had removed her helmet to get some fresh air and to be able to consume her beverage, her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. "Let me see if I understand what's going on here. The Professor's ride is grounded, so in order to make the trip a little shorter, we're going to drive there in some of Falcon's death-defying speed demon machines?"

Gadd opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. When the bounty hunter put it that way, their plan did sound rather outlandish. But Samus took their silence as an answer in the affirmative and turned to Dr. Clash.

"Good. Then you'd better have an impressive selection."

* * *

Dr. Clash's selection of F-Zero racers was, indeed, impressive. His spacious garage beneath downtown Mute City contained dozens of glossy racing machines made for speed and, as a second priority, for survival. Fox and Samus had to fight the temptation to linger behind and spend hours admiring the finely-built flyers. Apparently the doctor wasn't one much for racing talent, but he sure could build them.

The rest of that afternoon was spent in basic F-Zero flyer training. Using some relatively unoccupied back alleys of the futuristic city, Clash instructed Professor E. Gadd in how to maneuver the Vanisher—his slightly melodramatic nickname for the pale green vessel that was to bear him and Roy to Fourside. Roy sat in the passenger seat, trying not to throw up even while they moved less than 15 miles per hour.

Dr. Stewart, meanwhile, introduced Fox to the Landmaster GX, which was, obviously, modeled after the pilot's Arwing-like tank but without the gun and the rollers. One might say he fell in love at first sight; it was all Stewart could do to get him to stop racing it around before midnight.

Samus found the Metroid Masher presented to her by Jody Summer to be satisfactory, although its striking resemblance to her late starship made her wish she could take off with it into the night sky and exact revenge on Master Hand within the hour. But she couldn't. So she would have to settle for a couple weeks, then.

Once everyone was in for the night (Dr. Clash had booked the heroes two hotel rooms in one of the less conspicuous parts of town, though from the sophisticated interior, Roy couldn't believe they were considered mediocre), they admired the spectacular view of Mute City's night life, which resembled some kind of mix between Orbit City and Las Vegas. With Samus in one room and Gadd, Roy, and Fox in the other, they lay down to a restless night before what they all hoped would not become their final dawn.


	9. Chapter 7: A Grim Prognosis (2)

It was such an enormous relief to finally be rid of the addling peculiarity of the Battlefields that even though the outskirts of Fourside City were not much for scenery, Nana almost felt like kneeling and kissing the dull, gray earth—as if only by leaving the Battlefields had they truly escaped from Master Hand.

They walked for several miles without incident, which, given their recent track record, seemed almost as strange as the wasteland they'd left behind. The towering silhouettes of the city seemed to be advancing forward to welcome them, slowly but surely assuming their full height with every step. Beldam and Marilyn had since recovered from the Anti-Guy's devastating head-butting, so the group, though weary, kept a steady pace toward their destination—which, at the moment, was anywhere other than where they had just been.

At this point, it would do to shed some light on one particular mystery of the Nintendo World. Although the Great Fourside City did represent that urban center from Earth so well known to Ness and his friends, it had somehow been misplaced—reconfigured, as it were—to its present location in the Midwestern reaches of the Nintendo mainland. No one thought anything of it—even Ness—for as far as their memory was concerned, they had never known anything else. Furthermore, it was a massive megalopolis that had become so much more than a mere Earth city; rather, it was the melting pot of nearly every culture on the continent, attracting travelers and businesses from the Mushroom Kingdom, Kanto Region, Hyrule, Mute City, and so forth. Indeed, Fourside was so large that one could drive through it for a week without reaching from one end to the other. It was where the Nintendo World truly blended into one, where the greatest gatherings and contests and interregional markets found their center. And now, Link and his companions had stepped inside.

At first, they passed nothing but outlying factories and remote residences that had either been long abandoned or treated dangerous materials that would be toxic or otherwise lethal to the general populace: nuclear plants, chemical treatment compounds, power stations, industrial chimneys with black smog billowing from the top like evaporated tar.

Then, as they moved on, the urban livelihood of the city began to manifest itself. Highways and pylons and clusters of residential neighborhoods blotted the landscape, transforming its barren emptiness to the thriving concrete jungle of a condensed civilization. Soon semi-trucks and taxis and vehicles of every shape, size, and color impeded their pedestrian progress, and Falco decided it was time to adapt to the new environment.

"We'll be going nowhere fast if we try to walk through all this mayhem," he said. "I'm gonna find us a ride."

Link, Zelda, Nana, and the Shadow Sirens were all unfamiliar with the modern metropolitan milieu, so they left the navigating to Falco without argument.

His first brilliant idea was to run into the middle of a street and wave his hands in the air, unintentionally appearing like a gun-wielding, war-painted terrorist accosting innocent civilians. The Arwing pilot certainly got people's attention, but rather than stop and offer the hitchhikers their help like he expected, most of the cars blared their horns in a blend of fear and annoyance, several of them veering around the falcon and speeding off on their merry way. Seeing this disastrous reaction, Falco retreated back to the roadside where the others watched with puzzled expressions.

"Ok, bad idea," he admitted as they moved on. As the residences around them became skyscrapers and colossal department stores, the small party began to be enveloped in a confusing current of pedestrians, most of them human, but many representing other Nintendonian races. "Time for plan B."

But Falco's companions never found out what his plan B was (which was just as well, considering he had not yet formulated it himself), for at that moment a voice from the thronging city-dwellers behind them called one of their names.

"Vivian! Vivian!"

She came to a halt, and with her, the rest of them paused and followed her gaze, doing an about-face to find the source of the voice: a small, bubblegum-pink Goomba with a beige archaeological helmet and a cute blond ponytail sticking out the back.

"Goombella?" Vivian could hardly believe it. It was one of her fellow adventurers who had journeyed with her and Mario to the Thousand-Year Door. She slunk forward and embrace her friend (Goombas were rather incapable of hugging, but Goombella's inviting posture indicated her returned affection). "What are you doing here? I thought you were working with that Koopa Professor Kolorado and his team of archaeologists."

Goombella winked. "I was—for quite a while, actually. But when Professor Frankly asked for my help on a project of his all the way in the Great Fourside City, I just couldn't say no! I mean, Rogueport's great and all, but I've never been to the Nintendo Mainland until now, and…well, we'll have so much to talk about back at the library!"

"The library?"

"Yeah, that's where we've been working with the Professor….Oh! And you've got to meet my boyfriend! He's the sweetest little Goomba you'll ever meet." Her excited smile froze for a moment as she realized her friend wasn't traveling alone; Marilyn, Beldam, Link, Zelda, Nana, and Falco were not exactly among the most typical of tour groups. "And, uh…your friends are welcome to come, too."

By now, Vivian did at least trust the good intentions of the four Smashers, but that did not mean she felt comfortable enough to call them her friends. She made hasty introductions before Goombella started leading them down the block.

The clever Goomba meandered them purposefully through the congested maze of streets, looking back every now and then to make sure none of them had fallen behind. The bright flashing lights of restaurants and museums and banks and businesses assaulted them from every side, but Goombella ignored it all as if they were merely taking an afternoon stroll through the Donut Plains. But those who followed behind found themselves enraptured by the hustle and bustle of city life: on one side, a park filled with merchants like the shirtless man Beetle attempting to sell passersby useless trinkets; on the other, Chef Kawasaki's (a bulky, happy-go-lucky red Cappy) Café specializing in outrageously spicy dishes; and pickpocketing Grabbits and Burglars (of the Pokémon Trainer variety) requiring constant vigilance on the part of every traveler.

Goombella made light conversation with Vivian along the way.

"So, it's been, like, forever! What have you been up to all this time?"

"Oh, you know…being kicked out of both Rogueport and the Mushroom Kingdom; wandering around the Battlefields; the works."

Goombella's eyes widened. "The Battlefields? Yikes. That doesn't sound fun at all." She paused in her speech for a moment (which didn't happen often). "Soooo…last I heard, you had a thing for Mario, huh? Are he and Peach, like…?"

"Yeah…." There was nothing else for Vivian to say.

"Oh." Having already touched on two rather uncomfortable subjects, she tried another angle. "Well, let me tell ya about the city! There's so many places I wanna show you!"

And so it went until, some twenty minutes later, Goombella stopped at a tiny structure pressed between two enormous office buildings like a slice of ham in a croissant. It looked rather dilapidated, with blinds rolled down over the windows and a weathered, chipped door.

"Here we are! Home sweet home."

A jingling bell announced their arrival as they stepped into a single room filled with dusty shelves of books and a few desks and chairs here and there. A staircase on one end appeared to lead up to what Vivian supposed would be bedrooms for the professor and his assistants. The smell vaguely reminded her of the acrid air within the Thousand-Year Door, only perhaps a bit less vile.

At the far end of the room, two Goombas—one with a blue baseball cap and the other with white tufts of hair and spiral-lensed spectacles—were hunched over a large tome. The old Goomba's muttering carried over to the newcomers' ears.

"But if the initial siege of Yoshi's Island had taken place even a week later, the Sony spies would have alerted us of the impending attack and it would have ended just like the first Shroob assault on—well, hello there, Goombella! I see you've brought some friends with you."

The one with the hat spun around and beamed. "Bella, you're back!" Goombario scuttled over and the couple shared a strange-looking head bonk that was evidently a sign of affection in Goomba culture.

Introductions were made; Frankly was reassured that Marilyn and Beldam were not there to kill him; mugs of Chuckoccino (made from the best Woo and Chuckle Beans) were passed around to all who cared for it; chairs were drawn and tables pulled together to fit everyone around them.

"Well, Vivian," Frankly said, as old as E. Gadd but also almost as vivacious, "You and your companions look like you've got a story to tell. You all look a sad mess, too; want to enlighten us?"

Vivian nodded, and to the best of her ability, she recounted how she and her sisters had stumbled upon Link and company in the Battlefields. Nana jumped in and explained how she and the others had ended up there in the first place after being abducted from Kanto and Hyrule, held in the fortress, and narrowly escaped (Vivian was caught by surprise when she found out Mario had been held with them). Then Falco detailed their confrontations with first Metal Zelda and the Duplighosts; then the disturbing episode with the disfigured Shadow Queen; and finally their most recent "rendezvous" with the Spear Guys and the lamp monster.

"Whoa…." Goombario broke the silence. "And I thought _my_ life was exciting."

Goombella looked as worried as her boyfriend. "If Mario and the Princess are still trapped there, then we have to go rescue them!"

Unexpectedly, Professor Frankly smiled. "No need, Goombella. Spoke with Impa this morning; Mario and two of his friends got out. Peach wasn't with them, but from their reports, it sounds like she's already been…." He appeared reluctant to say it.

The two other Goombas gasped. "Oh, no…."

Frankly nodded gravely, then turned to Nana and the other Smashers. "Have you fellas been brought up-to-date about the Smash Brothers?"

By the look on their faces, they clearly had not, so during the next five minutes, Professor Frankly informed them concerning how and why the resistance movement came into being, how Impa was preparing them against Master Hand's forthcoming invasions, how the Original 25 were supposed to be gathering in order to defeat the enigmatic tournament host, and how Mario and Ness and Marth had been retrieved from the fortress by Pit.

It was a lot to take in.

Vivian, for one, breathed out in relief. "So Mario's safe."

"How, then, can we help?" Zelda asked.

"We'll be meeting the rest of the Smash Brothers at the Grande Snifit Hotel in a few days," Goombario said. "You can come with us to prepare for…well…" He glanced at Frankly. "…I'm not really sure, exactly."

"There is to be a fighting contest," Frankly said. "A tournament, if you will. Impa believes, for whatever reason, that Master Hand will use this tournament to snatch as many of the Original 25 as he can. It will give us an ideal opportunity to find out more about his plans and possibly go a long ways toward thwarting them."

"Wait…." Falco could hardly believe what he was hearing. "You're telling me Master Hand's gonna be using this tournament as a trap to take us back to that hunk of crumbling rock, and you want us to _go there?_ Forget it; this is your battle, not mine. I'm outta here."

"Falco, wait!" But the pilot ignored Link's protest and shoved past them out the door, triggering the ironically cheerful bell as he left.

Frankly frowned. "Lombardi may think he can run away from all of this, but he cannot—regardless of how much he wants to." He regained his composure and attempted to pick up where he'd left off. "The rest of you, you are all, of course, free to go your own way. But the safety of the entire Nintendo World may be in your hands. No pressure."

"Of course we'll help," Zelda said. The others nodded their assent—even the Shadow Sirens, who felt that with the Shadow Queen's involvement, they were at least obligated to see to her total elimination as a threat to them and their friends.

"Good." Frankly cleared his throat. "We shall depart for the Grande Snifit Hotel tomorrow morning. Until then you are welcome to stay upstairs…though it may be a bit crowded because we've only got three small bedrooms."

"Thanks, Professor," Nana said.

"One other thing." The elderly Goomba coughed and paced the floor of the small library. "With the Shadow Queen's alleged return, you've reminded me of something. There is a…being…lurking around this city. He wears only a hooded cloak and is just a few feet tall. But from the rumors I've heard, he is a deadly servant of Master Hand, known only as 'The Shadow.' When we embark tomorrow, I want you all to be on your guard; you may have prevailed over the monsters of the Battlefields, but the monsters of the Great Fourside City are well hidden and just as dangerous. We believe Master Hand's spies are already among us, and we cannot afford to blink with all of these worrisome events stirring into motion."

"Always a charmer," Goombario muttered as he showed the guests up the stairs.

* * *

Gotoh's school of magic was unlike anything Young Link had ever seen. It rather resembled a mix between a Greek temple and a monastery: ornate white columns, elaborate stone arches and stairways, torch-lit hallways and candle-lit tables. The building also contained a courtyard with an incredible variety of colorful plant life, seeming to defy the desert conditions that surrounded the place. A faint but pervasive smell of incense made the Kokiri boy feel a bit woozy at first, though he soon acclimated to it.

As Gotoh led them through the academy, hooded scholars and cloaked students of magic passed them by, generally displaying perplexed expressions at the sight of the visitors. These expressions were only slightly mollified by their recognition of the White Sage, who was evidently their master teacher. Young Link was vaguely reminded of many of the sacred structures he'd frequented in Hyrule—particularly the pure, whitewashed Temple of Time. There was a similar sense of holiness to this place, a historicity that went beyond the stone or the red carpets or the flickering candles.

They progressed in what felt like an appropriate silence until Gotoh ducked through a large arched doorway and showed them into the library. Dozens of shelves housed thousands of ancient tomes, archiving centuries of magical history and dealings with dragons. The spacious middle chamber, around which the circular shelves were centered, was understandably better lit than the rest of the temple. And, ironically, this appeared to be the one place where the residents spoke freely without any concern for their noise level. Most of the chatter stemmed from the scholars' deep discussions about the contents of whatever nine-inch-thick book they happened to be studying. Gotoh strode over to an empty round table near the shelves, gesturing for them to sit down.

"Friends," he said. "Do not be alarmed by my forwardness. We may never have met, yet I know well who each of you are."

Young Link, Luigi, Peasley, and G.W. looked startled (Kirby didn't seem to care). They appreciated the man's aid in escaping the wrath of the Manaketes, but how could this be?

"Allow me to explain," Gotoh said, coughing. "There is a movement—one that transcends any one part of the Nintendo World."

The sage went on to describe, as other traveling Smashers had been learning across the world, the purpose of the Smash Brothers. To Young Link, this did not come as a surprise, for he recalled Professor E. Gadd's seemingly coincidental intervention against the Boos on his behalf, and how the old man had insinuated a grander scheme of things the night before he and Navi left.

Luigi, though he gulped with the gravity of their situation, actually felt relieved to know that he wasn't alone in this fight. He had lost many tournament matches to some of the names Gotoh mentioned and thanked his lucky Power Stars that he would have them as allies.

Game & Watch finally managed to turn his mind from his dislike of Peasley as he recognized the Nintendo World had far bigger problems than a prideful prince. He was not particularly buddy-buddy with many of the tournament participants, but he felt as if he had been called to a higher purpose as a defender of the world he knew and loved. Coincidentally, the Beanbean warrior's thoughts were almost exactly the same.

Finally, Kirby, with his childlike demeanor, had a remarkable way of intuiting when Kirby the Star Warrior was needed and Kirby the blissful glutton had to be set aside. He narrowed his eyes in determination as Gotoh told them more of Master Hand's dealings.

"Now; as you are passing through Akaneia, you ought to know at least a little about our land and its perils.

"We are a nation of warriors, dragons, and magic. Since the dawn of time, the Divine Dragons have watched over and protected us against our warring neighbors. I was once among these guardians before being confined to this human form. However, most dragons are not as benevolent as we are. The shapeshifting Manaketes you had the misfortune of meeting, for example, are among a number of wild dragon packs who roam these lands. They are not inherently evil, but they are territorial and as instinct-driven as any carnivorous animal you have ever encountered.

"There was a time when all dragons always assumed their true form. But after the catastrophic battle between the Divine Dragons and the Earth Dragons—who sought to destroy mankind—it was agreed upon that we should adopt human incarnations in order to create peace between us and the world of men. Most of the Manaketes eventually consented to this mandate—that is, except for the bloodthirsty Earth Dragons.

"Led by the Dark Dragon Medeus, the Earth Dragons refused to accommodate human forms even though the humanoid Manaketes would be allowed Dragonstones to transform themselves back into dragons should the need arise. More than anyone else, they sought man's extinction. Consequently, the Divine Dragons trapped them within the Shield of Seals, also known as the Fire Emblem. However, their leader, Medeus, secretly accepted his Manakete form, and by doing so retained his dangerous intellect rather than becoming a savage, mindless beast like the rest of his kind. He formed an empire of hostile Manaketes known as Doluna, which once again waged war against Akaneia until Marth finally slew him with the Falchion blade and ended the conflict. And so we enjoyed peace for a time.

"But the Darkness was not yet vanquished. After I founded this school, I took up two apprentices by the names of Gharnef and Miloah. They were both promising young mages, but Gharnef lacked a caring heart, so I had no choice but to give my inherited spells to Miloah despite him being the younger student. In his jealousy, Gharnef eventually gave in to the Darkness. He murdered Miloah with evil magic and used it to revive Medeus once more. They have been in hiding ever since, almost certainly plotting to overthrow the kingdom—perhaps even in collaboration with Master Hand."

Young Link had almost lost himself in the grandeur of Godot's story. Surely this had something to do with the purpose the Great Deku Tree had for him in this country. When it became apparent that the man's tale had ended, he felt compelled to speak his mind.

"Do you need our help?"

Gotoh smiled. "We would appreciate any help we can get. That being said, I understand you are on an important mission beyond the Great Fourside City, so if you must pass through without delay, I'm sure we can fend for ourselves." His smile faded. "Although without our heroes, Marth and Roy, it will be a hard struggle indeed."

"Nonsense." Peasley unsheathed his rapier unnecessarily (it was a thing of his), pointing it at the ceiling. "If there be any chance that Master Hand has a …erm… _hand_ in this, then your fight is our fight!"

Even so, not all of the Smashers shared Peasley's sentiment. Luigi was anxious to find his brother and his princess, and Mr. Game & Watch didn't see any point in wasting time on Master Hand's extremities when they were already well on their way to striking at the heart of their enemy. In fact, if it weren't for the urgent letter rushed into the library at that moment by a royal messenger, they might have ignored Akaneia's internal issues entirely and been on their way.

The messenger, garbed in a purple tunic, barely had enough breath to relay the oral portion of his message while handing the rolled-up parchment epistle to the sage.

" _huff_ …Urgent message from… _huff_ …Princess Nyna… _huff_ …she requests an immediate… _huff_ …response."

Gotoh ripped open the twine knot binding the scroll and quickly scanned its contents, his brow furrowing as he read on. He then stood and positioned himself to address both the messenger and the table's occupants.

"Our worst fears have been realized. Our capital of Akaneia is under siege. Gharnef has somehow released the Earth Dragons from the Fire Emblem and is advancing upon the city wall as we speak. I shall gather my students of magic and go to their defense." He looked at each of the Smashers. "Are you with us?"

"Of course."

"Yeah."

"Let's-eh-go."

"Al-right, then."

"Pie!"

Gotoh nodded. "Then we must hurry."

* * *

Yoshi and Popo nodded to each other and sprang into action. Yoshi wrapped his tongue around his fellow Smasher's snow boots and swung him into the air in horizontal circles. Popo simply stuck out his hammer with both hands, knocking down a handful of Wire Frames with each orbit. They moved steadily forward, toppling the rushing enemies like plastic Army Men thrown by a weed whacker.

Soon they reached the gelatinous purple mound at the center of the stadium. The Wire Frames had ceased to spawn from it, but between them and their target, Metal Pikachu had fixed itself firmly in their way, cheeks sparking and ready to pounce.

Yoshi tossed an egg at the Pokémon, but it became a blur as it Quick-Attacked forward, Head-Butted Yoshi's underbelly, and sent him flying backwards. Popo sought to take advantage of the moment, leaping toward it and conjuring a blast of icy mist. But as he converged on it, Metal Pikachu caught him in a convulsion of whirling electricity, sending agonizing jolts through his body and casting him aside like a rag doll.

Metal Pikachu called forth a column of scintillating Thunderbolts that crashed through the glass domed ceiling, sending out a charged starburst of energy that electrocuted Popo even further. He screamed until his body could no longer handle the pain and shut down.

Gasping, Yoshi stumbled back up and made a reckless dash at the clone. His head expected to collide with the small creature, but instead, he found himself rolling beyond his mark as the Metal Pikachu flipped him over its head and hurled him into the purple mound, which bounced him off like a trampoline.

Yoshi barely had the strength to stand again. And as if the deceptively powerful Metal Pikachu hadn't been enough of a challenge, its accomplice Metal Mewtwo chose that moment to hover through the aperture of broken glass. It stared at Yoshi balefully, looking about as merciful as a boiling Blargg. Yoshi closed his eyes. He knew this would be the end.

But for Yoshi and Popo, unlike Sabrina, their imminent death never came. Instead, what sounded like a laser blast blared from outside, and the rest of the dome shattered as a white manor-sized ship broke into the stadium, its pointed wings and nose cutting through the infrastructure like a giant retractable claw.

Yoshi opened his eyes in time to see the Great Fox liquefy Metal Pikachu with a burst of red light from the bottommost turret. They nearly had Metal Mewtwo as well, but the creature Teleported out of sight just before a steady green laser from the ship's upper section shot through the spot where its head had just been, boring through the wall behind it.

A figure bounded out of the vessel down to the two surviving Smashers. Yoshi had neither the ability nor the desire to resist as the jump-suited frog secured him and Popo to the same cord linking Slippy the Great Fox, which then reeled them back into the ship's interior while it destroyed what was left of the Wire Frame Pod below.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Red clenched his fists alongside Pichu and Jigglypuff.

Giovanni smiled enigmatically. "It seems so long ago that you and I last met in this building. Of course, things were much different then…."

"What do you want? I thought you decided to disband Team Rocket forever and go straight."

"Oh, yes, Team Rocket is long gone." The man's green eyes flashed hungrily. "Like I told you, I've dedicated my life to learning all there is to know about Pokémon. But as it happens, I have found a rather suitable…medium…by which to accomplish it."

"What do you mean?" It took all the restraint Red possessed to refrain from socking him in the face right then and there.

"It is incredible how much you can accomplish when you have an ally, Red," he said. "Something your father never seemed to understand…."

Red felt as if his brain were imploding. "What do you know of my father?"

Giovanni laughed softly. "More than I could ever tell you. But that is a tale for another time. Now, I shall ensure that you do not get in the way of Master Hand's plans." He drew out a Pokéball from within his suit and tossed it forward. "Go, Kangaskhan!"

From the former gym leader's Pokéball materialized what appeared to be an enormous armored kangaroo with sharp teeth, a thick horny tail, and a small gray creature peering out from its manila pouch. It stomped its foot like a sumo wrestler who had been waiting to fight for six months.

There was no time for Red to try and reason with Giovanni, and he was pretty confident it wouldn't have done any good even if he had, so there was only one way to respond.

"Pichu, Jigglypuff, go!"

This was different from other Pokémon battles, though, because he felt no need to direct these two in combat except to shout occasional warnings and whatever other small advice he could give from an outside perspective. Other than that, all he could do was helplessly watch the tussle unfold.

Pichu and Jigglypuff, outweighed as they might have been, were far from outmatched. They had fought together often enough to perform in battle like an acrobatic dance routine. The hulking Pokémon began by slashing at them with its claws. For a while they hopped about, dodging around and behind its attacks. Then Kangaskhan used one particularly sharp claw to attempt to Cut them, which could do devastating damage to such small Pokémon.

As it did so, however, both of them leapt just high enough to clear its arms, and then Pichu used Jigglypuff as a squishy springboard to launch himself headfirst into Kangaskhan's forehead, Tackling and Scratching and Thundershocking and clinging on for as long as he could. Giovanni's beast scrabbled helplessly at its head, unable to dislodge the parasitic passenger. Jigglypuff had been about to go in for her iconic Rest finish (which, while it would put her to sleep, somehow sent whoever she happened to be touching careering away like a home run hit). But before she could do so, a pearly white figure appeared above Kangaskhan's head and Slashed Pichu off, who cried in pain and fell limply to the ground.

"Puff!" Jigglypuff pouted. That is to say, "I can't believe Persian just cut into our battle without warning. That was _most_ indecorous!" She resolved to make her subsequent Double-Slap extra hard on Kangaskhan's face, causing the kangaroo to double back and dislodge Persian as well. The sly cat landed on her feet, of course, and immediately dived toward Jigglypuff with her long claws extended, intending to pop her target like a balloon.

Kangaskhan was not done, either. It had been quite irritated not only by Pichu's assault and Jigglypuff's slap, but also by Persian desperately digging her claws into its head before being thrown off. It swayed on one foot like a drunkard, brought its fist back, and lunged forward with an angry Dizzy Punch, not caring much who it hit.

Luckily for Jigglypuff, it hit Persian midflight, KO'ing the feline as she slammed against an old filing cabinet. The puffball breathed a sigh of relief.

Pichu, who had been injured but merely feigning unconsciousness, then chose that moment to spring up and finish off Kangaskhan with a mighty Electro Ball attack. The sphere of pulsing azure electricity surged into Kangaskhan's belly, inducing a Roar that split both humans' ears before it collapsed onto its back and fainted.

Giovanni glared at Red as he Returned both of his Pokémon to their Pokéballs. Yet his demeanor appeared far from defeated.

"You may have gotten lucky again, kid, but once I receive Master Hand's power, I will be able to control any Pokémon from the smallest Sentret to the mightiest Moltres." He suddenly pointed a gun at the boy's head. "Not that it will matter to you."

The Great Fox's missiles exploded above them as its pilot circled around the location Yoshi had indicated, carefully avoiding civilian casualties while still making his point to whatever hostiles keeping their friends inside.

Thick cracks appeared in the cement ceiling above them, small chunks already raining down on their heads. This, combined with the noise, had the young Pokémon Trainer thoroughly convinced that the time had come to leave. Now that the match had ended, he also noticed that Giovanni had been blocking them from reaching a heaving mass of purple goo attached to the floor behind him. Although he didn't know it, this was precisely what Yoshi and Popo had found in the stadium—the source of the Wire Frames.

Giovanni growled and slunk into the shadows of the basement, hissing as he vanished:

"This is just the beginning…."

Although he had no clue how the man could possibly escape the collapsing roof by retreating deeper inside, Red and his Pokémon turned and hightailed it out of the crumbling Silph Co. As he did so, Giovanni's words kept replaying in his head.

 _"More than I could ever tell you…."_

* * *

The aftermath of the attack was bloody and devastating. Few casualties had been noted besides Sabrina, but dozens were seriously injured, and Saffron City had been all but leveled by the Wire Frames.

"Sorry we had to blow up even more of it to get you guys out," Slippy Toad said as they consulted outside the grounded Great Fox, which was stationed in what used to be the central park.

Popo shook his head. A few hours had passed, and he and his friends had recovered sufficiently to function, although the smaller, more persistent aches and pains still remained. "We owe you our lives."

Peppy Hare, decked out in his old white-and-green pilot uniform, coughed. "Yes, well, I hate to singe yer sideburns, but we're not out of this minefield yet." He consorted a handheld computer. "According to Professor Gadd's map, a whole lotta your other tournament friends are headed straight into the devil's den. General Pepper initially sent us here with the sole prerogative of extracting Fox and Falco, but my sensitive old whiskers told me that we'd be needed for a whole lot more than that."

"Who?" Yoshi asked, sensing those closest to him would be among these "other tournament friends." "Where are they?"

"There's a few clusters of 'em, one in Fourside; another way down by Rainbow Ride; another up in Mute City; and the last one right over in Akaneia."

"Jiggly!"

"She's right," Red said. "Akaneia's closest; so we head there first?"

"Yep," Slippy said. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Pichu, Pi?" Pichu asked doubtfully. He, like the others, was still confused about how and why these Cornerians had found them and were seeking out other tournament participants.

Slippy looked surprised. "You mean you all don't know why? Haven't you heard of the Smash Brothers?"

The unanimous shaking of heads answered the toad's question.

"Ok. Well, we'll fill you in on the plane!"

Red turned to Gary, who sat on a fragmented bench, looking gaunt and ghostly. It seriously frightened him to see his normally inexhaustible cousin like this.

"You coming?"

Gary shook his head, choosing to look out at the medics rushing to and fro and firemen extinguishing burning buildings and law enforcement officers trying to contain the panic and shift rubble in search of casualties.

"Sabrina's dead. It killed her. I should've stopped it."

"But it's not y—"

"You go and stop Master Hand, Red. You've always been the one they need, however much I've always wanted to take your place. Go and represent our world; I'll join you later if I can, but…." Red's brain almost couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him. A tear rolled down Gary's cheek. He was _crying_. "…Saffron has no gym leader now. Without Sabrina to protect it, I've gotta fill that role, at least for a while. Someone needs to make sure these people are safe from anything else that monster might send our way. So I'm gonna shore up the home front…" Finally, Gary looked up at his rival; he stood shakily and put a hand on Red's shoulder. "…and you can strike the enemy where it hurts."

Red nodded slowly. "Ok. I'll see you later, then. Be safe." He walked over to where the others were already filing into the Great Fox.

"And Red?"

He stopped. "Yeah?"

"Give 'em hell for me."


	10. Chapter 8: Castle Town Showdown (1)

Chapter 8: Castle Town Showdown

* * *

 _ **T**_ he shuttles that ran through Fourside City were almost always overcrowded. They ran along smooth metal rails that zigzagged and wound their way across the thriving metropolis. To Vivian, the shuttles themselves looked like the body of Peach's private jet that had once taken Mario to Delfino Island—minus the pink. Though the vessels were a far cry from the futuristic public transportation of places such as Mute City and Corneria, to her (not to mention Link and Zelda, who would have considered a steam engine to be futuristic), this seemed like the pinnacle of technological convenience. And despite the close quarters she and her sisters were sharing with a particularly obese Gourmet Guy, Vivian managed to allow the sublimity of floating through the air over this magnificent city to sweep over her.

"Do you think Falco will come back?" Nana asked, seated beside Link and Zelda.

"Perhaps not willingly," Professor Frankly interjected from the seat behind them. "But with the way things are going, I doubt he'll have a choice of whether to join this conflict. Master Hand wants _all_ of the Original 25, and I'm sure he's got a contingency plan for reluctant participants."

Their shuttle sped around the side of the towering "Fourside Department Store" and then plummeted to meander beneath a glass spiral skyway and on across a long stretch parallel to a wide street of nightmarish traffic below. It veered into a tunnel-like opening near the ground that turned out to be the station closest to the department store, which a fashionably dressed Zora announced from a screen at the front of the car in a cool female voice.

"Now stopping at: Fourside Department Store, the Pianta Parlor casino, and the Smash Hall of Fame. Please be courteous as you exit the shuttle and watch your step. Have a great day!"

Link was fixated on the cerulean-colored sea creature, trying to determine whether he recognized her from Lake Hylia, when he felt someone nudging his arm.

"I just realized," Professor Frankly said as about half of the current passengers lined up to disembark. "I need to run and grab a couple odds and ends at the store before we reach the hotel. We've still got two days before the tournament registration begins, so why don't you all come with me and see the sights, hm?"

A murmur of generally uninterested responses followed:

"Well, I dunno…."

"I don't want me or Zelda to get lost out there, so…."

"Guuuuhhh…!"

But Frankly stamped his foot, shaking his head firmly. "No, I insist. If you don't want to come shopping with me, you can explore the casino or the hall of fame. Besides, even if you get off at the right stop, the Grande Snifit Hotel is a huge place, and you'll never gain entrance into the Smash Brothers' Suite without me there. So you might as well come outside, unless you want to be accosted all afternoon by Chet Rippo and his assortment of wallet-ravishing rip-offs."

With that, he followed the crowd out the automatic sliding doors made of tinted Plexiglas and into the station lit by flickering fluorescent lights. Goombella and Goombario followed closely behind, both excited to explore downtown, but the Smashers and Shadow Sirens only filed out after deciding, with great reluctance, that there was no better alternative.

They made their way over to a complex of long escalators that took pedestrians down to street level and underground parking garages, or up to the skyways that connected the various malls and department stores in the area.

Frankly split off from them to take the ascending escalator. "Meet back here in two hours," he called over the noise of the crowd. "We want to make the four o'clock shuttle to reach the hotel by six."

Upon passing through the revolving doors into the bright urban life outside, it became apparent that they would have to choose between one destination and the other. The blue information sign before them, among a number of other more obscure locations, revealed the Pianta Parlor to be a few blocks across the street ahead, while the Smash Hall of Fame was to be found a ways to the right.

"We're gonna check out the casino," Goombella said to Vivian. "It's been a while since you and Mario and I have been to the one in Rogueport; d'you and your sisters wanna come with?"

"Sure," she agreed. To her relief, Marilyn and Beldam did not raise any objections, not appearing to care much about where they went at this point. She turned to Link, Zelda, and Popo. "You guys will probably want to see the Hall of Fame, since you're all part of it. See you later!"

"Bye, then!" Nana said cheerfully, waving as they crossed the gridlocked street. They ignored the road-raging Wiggler that was bright red and steaming with anger from the wait and was on the verge of climbing over the cars in front of it with its giant caterpillar body.

"What is this Smash Hall of Fame?" Zelda asked as they followed the sign and pushed through a throng of thuggish Kremlings (walking crocodiles with black skull-and-crossbones T-shirts).

Nana shrugged. "I've never heard of it. I guess it must have something to do with Master Hand's Smash Tournaments."

One of the beefier Kremlings had seriously considered snatching the princess and relieving her of valuables, but one sidelong glance from the swordsman beside her caused him to reconsider and press on with his gang as if he'd seen nothing.

After some ten minutes, they reached an open block covered with a well-maintained lawn and a winding cobblestone path that led through an obsidian Baroque-style arch and onto the steps of a small but impressive structure. It looked like a Renaissance-era museum with its pearly white and maroon walls decorated with intricate floral patterns; the resolute spires on each corner; the finished rosewood double doors; and the engraved golden circles repeated around the building near the top of the walls. They soon recognized these designs to match the recurrent off-centered cross insignias that were found all over Master Hand's Fortress as well as on the faces of the Wire Frames.

 _What do they mean?_ Zelda wondered as they paused for a minute to admire the beautiful building before Link tentatively pushed open the right-hand door and stepped inside.

The interior was magnificent yet almost eerily antiquated. The entire building was one high dome-ceilinged chamber, lit entirely by candles attached to the walls and suspended from a glittering diamond chandelier. Link realized that although from the outside it wasn't as noticeable, the room itself was also rounded, mirroring the enormous red Smash symbol that was painted onto the floor's white marble tiles. He looked up at the domed ceiling and saw Master Hand and Crazy Hand illustrated in frightening detail, their fingers curled diabolically like a piano player about to forcefully extract a sinister sonata from his instrument.

And, all around the red-carpeted walls, elliptical portraits of each Smash Tournament participant hung in ornate silver frames, the fighter's name engraved on a brass plate underneath. The frames covered the curved walls in their entirety, and all of them above the second layer were completely empty.

Link soon understood the method behind the design. Arranged around the bottom layer were the twelve representatives of the very first Smash Tournament: Luigi; Mario; Donkey Kong; himself; Samus; Captain Falcon; Ness; Fox; Yoshi; Kirby; Pikachu; Jigglypuff. These frames made their way around the entire room, and as such were widely spaced out.

The second layer above it, slightly closer together, included those who had been invited to the most recent tournaments: Peach; Bowser; Dr. Mario; Zelda; Ganondorf; Young Link; Falco; Pichu; Mewtwo; the Ice Climbers; Mr. Game & Watch; Marth; Roy.

The Original 25.

"Hey, look at this!"

Link and Zelda came over to where Nana was poring over a large bronze plate underneath her own portrait. Looking closely, Link saw that it contained a list of fighting statistics about the Ice Climbers: their victories, losses, KO count, greatest rival, and other details. He stepped over to his own portrait and found his and every other to have a similar posting.

It was incredible. Not because he particularly relished fighting, but because Master Hand had somehow been able to keep track of so much astronomically complicated data. How did he do it?

"And to think," Zelda said at his side, "we used to think of all this as a game."

Link gazed back up at the many empty rows that had yet to be filled, at the dozens and dozens of slots that would house many new fighters in future competitions. Then he raised his eyes once more to the painted ceiling. "I think Master Hand still does."

* * *

"Wow; like, I can only imagine what this place must be like at night!"

The Goombas and Shadow Sirens looked up in wonder at the dazzling entrance to the Pianta Parlor. The entire side of the casino was covered in a giant neon pink Pianta (which resembled a blob of paint with a grass skirt, sausage nose, and a literal plant sprouting from its head) that appeared to wave with the movement of the lights beneath a swirly neon sun.

"Yeah, I haven't seen this much glitter since the Glitz Pit," Vivian agreed as they walked inside.

It was very similar to the one in Rogueport, filled with shiny golden surfaces, flashing lights of every color, opulent slot machines and whirling roulettes and wealthy gamblers crowded around extravagant card tables. The chatter and hubbub was matched only by the melodic beeps and sirens as the slot players won—or, more often than not, lost—their Coins, which was the accepted currency of the establishment. Piantas, of course, ran the place as poker dealers, ushers, and waiters wandering around with silver platters that bore precariously balanced glasses of tropical fruit juice.

They wandered around the casino for a while, fascinated by the diversity of customers and the vibrant array of Coin-sucking machines. None of them were much for gambling, but Goombario gave his girlfriend a single coin to try on the slots, which resulted in two Lucky 7's…and a Boo, which cackled at them for their vain attempt to deprive it of Coins.

"What's the point of all this?" Beldam grumbled. "We should be tracking down the Shadow Queen before Master Hand sics her on some unsuspecting village…."

"You could've stayed on the shuttle, y'know," Goombella pointed out, her natural sass beginning to come out.

"Guuhhh!"

Vivian saw that her sister was pointing at something. "What is it, Marilyn?"

They followed the yellow-hatted plum girl's arm to one of the more lucrative poker tables, where an orange Pianta with a lush mustache was busy dealing out cards to four Hylian soldiers who appeared to be taking vacation time. But there was a fifth player: a short, cloaked figure whose face was hidden within a black hood.

They watched as each soldier, examining his hand, pushed more chips into the center than the last, the players' confidence as clear as their inexperience with maintaining a poker face. They awaited the hooded figure's play, expecting him to fold, but after a moment's pause, he slid several stacks of chips that were nearly the sum of all of the others put together. He was going all in. The last soldier laughed and hiccupped with drunkenness and matched his bid, certain he had it won.

But whatever the dealer revealed came as a shock to the soldier, who made to grab at the hooded victor, accusing him of cheating.

Big mistake.

He leapt deftly onto the card table, kicking the soldier in the face while keeping all but two white-gloved hands concealed within his cloak. The other three inebriated Hylians began yelling in anger and protest, rushing the figure from three angles while the Pianta backed away, frantically waving his arms as he fled to call security. The figure didn't look too perturbed; he balanced himself on his fist, then performed a spinning kick, treading on the three soldiers' faces and toppling them like Styrofoam bowling pins.

Vivian and Co. watched open-mouthed as the figure bounced up and alighted back on the ground. Seeing the clusters of blue Pianta guards closing in on him with police batons, it sped straight toward them…

…then stopped. Vivian realized it wasn't headed for her and the others, but for the exit behind them. Yet as they stood before the hooded figure, it seemed to take a moment to consider them, peering into their eyes from beneath its hood.

"Welcome to Fourside, friends of Mario," the deep voice rasped.

The Shadow shot past them in a black blur and was gone.

* * *

"There's one thing I still don't understand," Fox said as they approached the F-Zero track's starting line. It was bright and early in the morning, the air chilly and the wind dropping the temperature another 10 degrees for good measure. The track was situated some 200 feet above ground level, held up by titanic spires that supported the track until, through some sort of miraculous engineering technology, it continued on its own without any supports at all. The starting line was marked by the traditional checkered strip with stoplights on each end. Behind the line, some 25-30 racers were arranged in a staggered formation (the track was far too narrow to accommodate all of them at once), engines humming and pilots performing preliminary checks to minimize the chances of a fatal malfunction. Many of the pilots were human, but some were most definitely not.

"What's that?" Dr. Clash asked as he accompanied them to their vehicles.

"How did you have the time to build Samus and me personalized racers after such short notice?"

The mechanic looked a bit sheepish. "Well, let's just say I've had a little extra time on my hands—"

"—all of it," Stewart coughed.

"—and watching you and your friends fighting in the Smash Tournaments got me thinking: How neat would it be if you all got together sometime and did battle not with strength, but with speed! So, uh, I may or may not have built racers specifically designed for each of the Original 25 long before I joined up with the Smash Brothers."

"Fair enough," Fox said, placing his hand admiringly on the Landmaster GX. "Let's get this show on the road, then!"

Samus climbed into the Metroid Masher beside Fox. On her right, Roy awkwardly squeezed into the Vanisher's passenger side while Gadd took to the pilot's seat, offering the estranged boy words of encouragement in an attempt to allay his fears, which seemed to help a little but not much. Finally, Jody Summer and Dr. Stewart made for the racers directly in front of the other three: the White Cat and the Golden Fox.

"Remember," Summer said to them before stepping into her cockpit. "This may be a race, but you're only here to make it to Fourside alive. We hang behind the pack and avoid as much conflict with other racers as possible." Her eyes lingered for a moment on Fox, though this suspicion was justified since he had been envisioning himself outracing everyone and waiting for them at the finish line with a two-hour nap on his belt. "Use the racers' communicators to stay together and watch each other's backs."

"Take your turns slow," Stewart added. "The tracks are magnetized for jumps and loops, but there are no rails in F-Zero; no second chances. If you fall, you're toast."

Everyone nodded, although the only one seriously affected by this comment was Roy, who gulped and redoubled his silent Divine Dragon prayers.

A buzzer signaled that the race was about to start, ordering all non-racers off the track if they didn't want to die a horrible death.

"The track takes a detour through the Big Blue Route before completing the Mute City circuit," Dr. Clash yelled over the whirring machines as he walked off the track. "But take you to Fourside it will. Good luck!"

 _On second thought, maybe this won't be so bad. It's not like anyone here's out to get us, right?_ Roy looked out of the right side of the cockpit and accidentally made eye contact with the pilot next to them: an alien whose head resembled that of an elongated turtle skull. It grinned at him, drawing a line across its throat and pointing at Roy.

 _Heaven help us…._

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

 _BEEP!_

Roy felt like he'd just been sucked into a kaleidoscopic black hole. The Vanisher lunged forward like a pebble released from a slingshot, rocketing them forward at Mach-something and almost immediately breaking the sound barrier with a bone-shattering boom (in reality, they were only moving at some 200 mph and no such barrier had been broken, of course, but to Roy's tender ears, it might as well have been the case). He felt his stomach leap into this throat, his eyes and face peeled back in spite of the insulating windshield. He was truly grateful to not be in control right now.

The flock of racers zoomed through the initial stretch of the course, which mostly consisted of straight shots and gentle curves, the lights and towers of Mute City reeling beneath them. Stewart led their small formation of five, while Summer fell back to cover their flank. The two veterans were not overly concerned, though; seeing as they had purposely begun in the rear of the pack and gotten off to a slow start, the rest of the racers were far ahead of them.

However, even this relative security was eclipsed by the burning racer remains that began to show up on the track as the competition ahead apparently became more violent.

"Don't worry, the pilots aren't dead," Stewart said over the electronic speakers. "Pilots like Pico and Michael Chain's clan are known to play dirty, but despite what I said earlier, fatalities are relatively rare because the racers are equipped with teleporters that'll beam you to the finish if your racer's destroyed on the track. It's when your vehicle's seriously damaged and _then_ pushed over the edge that you have to worry; without contact with the track or the racer's computer, the teleporter has no way of triangulating your position and getting you out."

Then a steep, steady curve took them north, snaking back and forth in a manner that Roy personally felt went far beyond what was necessary. Samus, Fox, and Gadd were thoroughly enjoying themselves; it was technology such as this that they lived for and thrived on. Sure, they weren't putting on much of a televised show for their audience, but then again, the kinds of people who relished F-Zero races were often not the sort you would be able to please with any vestige of common sense or concern for personal safety.

And before they knew it, the city below them was gone, replaced by a flat, endless sheet of blue. They had reached the Big Blue segment of the course. The track wound up and down, undulating like ocean waves and tilting the racers up to 45 degrees. They passed through short tunnels running through huge, white, oddly-shaped silos that dotted the sea like aquatic skyscrapers.

Roy began to relax for the first time, leaning back and closing his eyes, pretending he was riding a perfectly smooth-running horse….

"Get 'em, boys!"

As they exited a tunnel, Roy looked back to see a pink racer with yellow flames come down from one of the silo's ledges and land behind them in hot pursuit. Worse still, some six or seven other racers fell down in his wake. A grizzly male voice had bellowed through their speakers; whether the pilot had intended for his quarry to hear him or not, none could tell.

"It's Samurai Goroh and his thugs," Summer grunted. "We've gotta shake 'em."

"How do we do that?" Fox asked, finding with disappointment that the Landmaster GX did not come with a laser cannon. "There's only one track!"

Summer grinned from within the White Cat as Goroh's gang closed in on them. "You misunderstand me," she said. "Not 'shake' as in lose; 'shake' as in rattle them up!"

Stewart, meanwhile, made a fairly hopeless attempt to reason with them. "Goroh, call off your dogs. The Captain isn't here. You have no reason to come after us."

"You think I care if Falcon is here to see me kill you?" Goroh spat. "You and Summer've been thorns in my side for too long; I'm gonna take you out, and then I'm gonna take down your precious Captain!" He glanced greedily at the three unfamiliar racers. "As for your friends, well…we've all got a living to make, bub. And since all this new blood'll be easy pickins, I'm sure we can make a pretty penny off whatever they leave behind!"

Summer sighed. "Have it your way, then." She suddenly slammed on her brakes, did a 180, and accelerated toward Goroh's gang. This caught the bandits off-guard. As eager as they were to do away with their boss's competitors, committing suicide in a game of chicken was not on the list of things they were willing to do for some cash. They all split off to the edges, but this stretch was so narrow that three of them were accidentally bumped off the sides to make room for the rest.

Goroh, on the other hand, tilted his Fire Stingray only at the very last second to skirt around Summer and took out his ire on his accelerator, rapidly closing the distance between him and his new target: the Vanisher.

"Gadzooks!" Professor E. Gadd tried to accelerate out of Goroh's reach, but it was no use; the bandit's vehicle was much more powerful than his own. In a few seconds, they would be wedged from underneath and shoved off the track….

"Fox," Samus said, seeing their predicament and glancing at what lay ahead. "Are you ready to try out that maneuver we've been practicing?"

"You know it," Fox said.

As one, the Landmaster GX and Metroid Masher decelerated until they were between the Vanisher and the approaching Fire Stingray. Then, Samus began spinning her racer clockwise while still moving forward, and Fox did the same except counterclockwise. They pivoted faster and faster until they were all but two whirling tops.

"Idiots!" Goroh guffawed. "Spinning like that on the track'll just help me knock you off easier! It's been nice knowing—NO!"

Too late, Goroh realized they were all about to go off a jump. But go off it they did, and while doing so, it was impossible for him to brake and avoid being bounced off the two gyrating racers. He spun out of control, sailing backward into his remaining cohorts and sending them all tumbling off the track into the ocean. Fox and Samus were temporarily thrown off course, but the spin on their vehicles soon brought them back to a safe trajectory.

The rest of them, against Roy's understanding of physics, landed smoothly on the sloped track below. Summer caught up to them a few seconds later.

"Now _that_ is how it's done!"

The race continued. For Roy, it felt like days, but it was in fact a couple hours before the track veered back toward the Nintendo mainland. He was once again extremely grateful for the distance between them and the rest of the pack; although Stewart had reassured them the chances of death were slim, he had no desire to find out what it felt like to be teleported out of an exploding machine.

At last, the coast came back in sight, and the course resumed its terrestrial route. Mute City was certainly a vast settlement; only Fourside surpassed it in size. For they had gone who-knew-how-many miles, yet Stewart informed them that they were still only about two-thirds of the way there.

It was on another flat stretch when their 200 mph tranquility was once again cut short. This time, two faint dots, one red and one blue, rapidly came into view. The alarming thing was that the two unknown racers were coming from opposite directions. They were on a collision course with the cluster of five racers caught in the middle, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

"Hug the edge!" Stewart yelled as he and the rest frantically swerved out of the way of the kamikaze vehicles. A few seconds later, the red and blue racers crossed within inches of each other, clearly in a coordinated effort to dislodge them from the track.

"Gaargh!"

One of the incoming vessels had clipped the corner of Fox's Landmaster GX, sending it over the side where it plummeted and then exploded in midair.

"Fox!" Samus peered over the side as she watched her friend's fall, having trouble registering what had just happened.

"He'll be fine," Summer said. There was a note of sharpness in her tone that hadn't been there before. "We need to worry about ourselves now; Stewart, did you catch which racers those were?"

"One was definitely the Blood Hawk. Falcon's mindless clone must be after us again. The other…my eyes must have been playing tricks on me, because it couldn't be true…."

Gadd's eyes widened. The rogue racers had doubled back and were coming again for round two. "I'm afraid you saw correctly, Doctor. It's the Blue Falcon. That doesn't make sense, though. The Captain is… _Gadzooks!_ "

This time, rather than simply speeding through, the two newcomers matched the speed of their quarry—the Blood Hawk behind them, and the Blue Falcon reversing directions and accelerating backwards so that they were all moving at the same velocity, sandwiched between the hostiles like a bunch of scarecrows stranded in the no-man's-land of a firing range.

Samus peered closely at the Blue Falcon. "It's Captain Falcon all right. Not the one we're thinking of, though…it's his metal lookalike!"

Meanwhile, Summer spun around to face the Blood Hawk. "And Blood Falcon, too. Master Hand must have enlisted them to collect bounty on us all. There'll be no negotiating here."

And, indeed, behind the Blue Falcon's cockpit, the metallic pilot maneuvered the backward-moving racer with every bit of expertise as its original. Blood Falcon, from within the Blood Hawk, looked exactly like Captain Falcon except with a red jumpsuit and purple helmet—and a merciless glint in his eyes above a cruel smile.

Once again, the track acted as a form of impersonal _deus ex machina_ ; it chose that point in the race to do several 360-degree corkscrews while continuing straight on, imitating the kind of rollercoaster segment much dreaded by those who have never gone upside-down on a ride. Blood Falcon took the opportunity to plunge himself toward Samus and Summer, who found themselves unexpectedly shifted by the rotating track, causing their adversary to just miss them.

As one, the two female pilots pivoted their racers inward and rammed into the Blood Hawk, crushing the cockpit and sending up sparks. Then the Metroid Masher backed off to allow the White Cat to push the crippled racer off the track.

Back at the front, with Gadd rather uselessly wedged in the middle and unable to catch up, Stewart found himself face to face with Metal Captain Falcon.

"Alright," he said. "Come and get some!"

Mid-twist, he lifted the left side of the Golden Fox so that it flipped away from the inverted track. At first it appeared as if he'd just thrown himself off the course, but as the track came back around in its rotation, it remagnetized the racer and sucked it back on—in this case, right on top of the Blue Falcon's cockpit.

Stewart allowed himself a smirk as he saw that the prow of the Golden Fox had penetrated straight through the windshield, surely pinning his foe inside. But then he looked closely: There was no one there. It must have been thrown out during the twist….

 _Thunk._

The weight of the object landing on his racer jarred Stewart in surprise. But before he could do anything, a metal fist punched through the glass above him and dragged him up onto the top.

Summer turned her vehicle about to see ahead. Metal Captain Falcon had her companion by the throat as they rode atop the Golden Fox.

"Robert!" she screamed.

But it was too late. The doppelganger thrust him off the side of the track, with no teleporter to break his fall onto the unforgiving buildings several hundred feet below. He was gone.

Metal Captain Falcon pushed off from the Golden Fox and cast itself onto the Vanisher, sending the two damaged racers into each other. They collided and exploded.

Now the track was making a steep ascent, as if the rollercoaster were preparing for its grand finale. Samus and Summer floored their acceleration pedals in an attempt to gain on the Vanisher, but their heavier vehicles could barely keep up with the Vanisher's lighter build—albeit one which had become significantly heavier with its unwelcome boarder.

Inside the rattling Vanisher, Gadd panicked, swerving back and forth in an effort to dislodge the metal Smasher. The track reached the peak of its ascent, but instead of a straight plummet, it formed a steep funnel down to the finish line and platform, which sat on the border between the outskirts of Mute City and that of Fourside. The midday sun glinted off the glass, but especially off of Metal Captain Falcon's iron body like a deathly solar flare.

Roy's senses were running amuck as the spiral descent began. He felt like his head was spinning even faster than the Vanisher, except in a different direction that threatened to pull his body out into space into some convoluted gravitational field. He grimaced as something sharp dug into his leg.

A metal arm broke through the glass overhead, reaching around for its next victim. The open air sucked at its occupants, causing them to pull against their seatbelts like sticky Cheerios on a carpet beneath a howling Eureka vacuum.

Suddenly, it dawned on Roy what it was that had jabbed into his leg. He reached down to his thigh and drew out the Binding Blade. The sword burst into flames, just inches away from the side of the racer and E. Gadd's sweating face. He first severed the metal arm like an ice cream scoop through a particularly frozen half-gallon. Next, he pushed himself out into the open where Metal Captain Falcon was in the middle of swinging its leg around toward his face. Roy ducked, then poked back out and heaved his sword at the clone with a yell, slashing along with the centripetal force of their spiraling course. The rippling flames danced across the glowing hot blade as it cut through the metal body at an upward angle (though not without much resistance), sawing Metal Captain Falcon in two. Its torso and head suddenly became as a statue, toppling onto the track along with its lower half.

The track leveled out and pulled in to the finish line, the rest of the F-Zero racers smirking at the last ones to finish, the crowd cheering and whistling from the stands in ignorance of the struggles and sacrifices and deaths that had just taken place.

* * *

The real Captain Falcon could not help but think that the Rainbow Ride would make an excellent F-Zero course. True, it was a bit happy-go-lucky for the Grand Prix, but the thick, swirling white clouds; the triangular yellow platforms; the poles and flags; the green-spired floating castle; and even the magic carpet following a winding rainbow path would be a colorful addition to the typical racing environment. He didn't even bother to question why such a place existed; there were enough things about the Nintendo World that didn't make sense as it was.

But he was brought back to reality by the heated argument taking place at the stern of the flying ship where control of the steering wheel was at issue.

"This is _my_ kingdom, _my_ ship, and _my_ turn to be in charge," Bowser growled, gripping the spokes of the wheel so hard that it was a miracle they didn't snap off.

Ganondorf, unimpressed, got right in the Koopa King's face. "My patience is at its end. We have wasted days of precious time scampering across the galaxy because I made the mistake of trusting any of you to know what you're doing. A mistake I do not intend to make again!" Without warning, he kicked Bowser full in the underside, knocking him away from the wheel.

The Kongs, Paula, Jeff, and Poo watched from the safety of the deck, hoping this villainous tirade did not result in the destruction of the only thing keeping them from falling out of the sky.

Bowser grunted as he clomped back onto his feet, his eyes burning with a livid flame. "Alright, tough guy, if you're so sure of yourself, go ahead and point us in the direction of Master Hand's Room and lead the way."

They glared at each other for a long, tense moment. Finally, for practicality's sake, Ganondorf had no choice but to relent.

"Very well, Koopa. Have it your way. But if we take any more detours to so much as sniff a flower, I shall personally see to it that you and everyone on this ship suffers a most painful death."

Bowser shouldered past Ganondorf and took hold of the wheel once more, spinning it to cause the ship to face northwest. The Gerudo went off without a word, no doubt to plot and brood as he usually did.

"That's what I thought."

Soon leaving behind the rest of Rainbow Ride, the ship sailed on for the next several hours, completely independent of the wind. They were so high above the ground that the clouds below almost completely obscured the Nintendo World's majestic landscape. Now and then, though, they did break through into a spectacular vista of mountains and plains and distant woods, the bright sun creating a postcard-quality portrait. Their world seemed so much smaller from up here.

The social dynamic on board became interesting after a while. Paula, Jeff, and Poo sat in a corner of the deck discussing their game plan once they reached Master Hand's Room. Seeing as the Phase Distorter 4 had abandoned them, they really had no choice but to go along for the ride—no matter how unpleasant some of their company might be. They didn't have much to go on as far as planning went, though; there was no telling what had become of Ness or what exactly awaited them in Master Hand's lair.

Diddy, Tiny, Lanky, and Chunky, meanwhile, where playing some kind of game around the mast tossing oranges to—or at—one another (not the exploding variety, of course). Tiny had suggested this mostly for Chunky's sake, who was terrified of heights and had already been through enough traumatic air exploits as it was.

Captain Falcon and DK stood at the prow, mostly just appreciating the view but occasionally talking about what they might expect from their old tournament host and how they might prepare for Bowser and Ganondorf's inevitable betrayal.

Speaking of whom, after their initial run-in, the two villains began to converse and form an almost comical bond. They exchanged retellings of treasured past tournament matches, relishing victories and sharing their resolve to avenge humiliating defeats (usually at the hands of Mario and Link). The frustration of their oft-frustrated efforts to dominate their own kingdoms proved a relatable common denominator between them despite their strong, independent personalities.

At length, a patch of cloudless sky revealed a dramatic change in the terrain below: It had become a desert, although from this height it much resembled a children's sandbox. The sun was beginning to relent to the advance of evening as everything—cloud and ground and ship—was bathed in a splendid topaz radiance.

"Looks like we're flying over Akaneia now," Bowser announced to no one in particular. "That means we're not too far from Fourside, and from there, a straight shot to Master Hand. At this rate, we should be there tomorrow morning!"

"Hmph," Ganondorf grunted, still slightly bitter about Bowser commandeering the ship even though he'd had little idea where the Mushroom Kingdom was in relation to their destination.

The blanket of clouds swept the view away once more, and again they sliced through the air, pressing almost blindly through the foggy sky. All was well until as night settled in, a yellow glow penetrated through the cloud layer beneath.

The ball of fire, about the size of Red's Squirtle float, came so fast that nobody had a chance to even tell Bowser to steer away before it came upon them at an angle. Fortunately, it did not hit the main hull—otherwise they would have already been dead. But it did incinerate a good portion of the prow and most of the mast, burning several of the ship's wings to a crisp.

Jeff desperately hoped that, with all the laws of physics their ride had already broken, it would somehow be able to shake off this setback and carry on.

It didn't.

The ship tilted forward. The Kongs and Earthlings and Smashers all searched for something to cling on to as the burning wooden marvel began to nose-dive some thousand feet to the distant surface below.


	11. Chapter 8: Castle Town Showdown (2)

For the next two days, Mario, Ness, and Marth remained at the Smash Brothers' underground headquarters, preparing for their upcoming journey to Fourside. Mario wasn't given too many details about what was going to happen; all Impa told him was that they were going to gather the Original 25 together, and once they were ready, they would make their final assault on Master Hand's Room. She also mentioned a tournament that would likely delay their departure but might prove useful in rallying more to their cause.

The day after Mario and Ness shared their story with the rest of the resistance fighters, Marth had recovered sufficiently to be able to walk and converse with them, although Nurse Joy had forbidden him from accompanying the Smash Brothers to Fourside, insisting he needed more time before being fit for battle.

Still, he was able to spend the day watching some of the group's fundamental training routines, which took place in a large, empty chamber that contained nothing but a few wooden platforms and a dusty old Sandbag that resembled a firm, upright pillow with two black dots for eyes.

Though the sessions were small and rather informal, Marth was impressed with the diversity of fighting skills that were used against the same stationary opponent. Most of the fighters he witnessed that day, he was told, hailed from Hyrule and a distant place called the Great Sea. One was a skeletal, shirtless old man who, at first glance, appeared feeble with his simple spear, but this impression was quickly shattered when he executed a series of complex martial arts moves, kicked the Sandbag up to the ceiling where it bounced off, and casually skewered it on his spear on the way down.

"Never underestimate your opponent," Orca said as he instructed a group of novices, making them look foolish when he turned their aggressive sword jabs against them. "You must have speed, dexterity, and most importantly, patience; otherwise, strength means nothing." The man seemed a bit gruff and humorless for Marth's taste, but he could respect his talent.

Later that afternoon, what Marth could only describe as a birdman (he had a beak-like nose, dark skin, and winged arms) gave a demonstration on aerial combat. First he dove a few times from one of the higher platforms onto the Sandbag, swiping at it with each pass. Then he brought in Pit for a more hands-on experience; they clashed midflight, twirling head over heel as they dodged each other's blows, yet both managing to regain control before nearing the ground and floating to the surface.

"Use the space you're given," the Rito Postman advised. "If you're not conscious of your surroundings, then your enemy will use it against you. I've seen many a Moblin fall to much smaller warriors because it wasn't looking where it was going and ran into a wall."

In the evening, a burly, white-haired Goron—Darunia, the king of Goron Mountain—showed some of the beefier Smash Brothers how to control their strength. With the battering the Sandbag had taken all day, Marth was astounded that it hadn't burst into a snowfall of stuffing by now. What was more, he could have sworn a couple times that it hopped or stood back up on its own. Could it, somehow, be sentient?

"Power is only as useful as your ability to wield it," boomed the brown, boulder-like being. He brought back his fist and drove it into the Sandbag, causing it to rebound at least five or six times off the walls and ceiling before Darunia snatched it out of the air and threw it to the ground. "Master Hand's Wire Frames are many, but they are neither as smart nor as strong as us. Know that, and turn your fear into a courage to match the Hero of Time himself."

Marth wondered about Link and Zelda; though he knew they had made it safely to the city, what would it be like when he and Roy finally got to fight alongside them and many others who he had once considered competitors? He wasn't overly concerned about the Wire Frames, but what about the metal clones who had already proven more than a match for their counterparts? And what about Master Hand himself?

* * *

The following day was mostly spent packing the necessary supplies and making final preparations for their next adventure. It was hoped that they wouldn't run into too much trouble finding the Original 25 at the tournament, but they had to prepare for the worst. With the exception of Marth, Nurse Joy, and a few guards (hardly necessary, but just an extra precaution), most of the Smash Brothers were accompanying them.

"Isn't the Fourside Colosseum really far away from here?" Ness asked as they made their way down the tunnel that led southeast toward the city.

"Don't worry about that," Impa said, leading them with a Banana Fairy lantern. Her comment needed no further explanation because a few seconds later, the tunnel became significantly wider and revealed the secret to their efficient travel: mine carts.

Four separate sets of tracks ran parallel to each other and the rocky walls. On each track, several large mine carts were connected like trains, big enough to fit eight to ten people each. They were speckled with rust, and the splintery levers looked about as reliable as a quad made of dinosaur bones.

"I know they don't look like much," Impa was quick to acknowledge. "But we have been using them for years without any problems. Choose your cart and we'll be off in a few minutes." Not one for mincing words, she went off to address other clusters of Smash Brothers and instruct them to board in an orderly fashion.

Mario and Ness, curious to see the dimly lit tunnel as they rode along, climbed into the foremost cart and sat down on cold metal seats as the assemblage filed in behind them.

Ten minutes later, they were off. Darunia and other brawny individuals manned the levers at the back of each line. They heaved, and slowly, with much squeaking and grinding, the lines shifted into motion. At first, they had to continue pumping the levers to keep them going, but after a while, they had enough momentum to allow gravity and the wheels on the tracks to do all the work.

Inside their cart, Mario and Ness found themselves among rather strange company. Besides a few Beanish and Waddle Doos, three in particular caught their attention. One was a young woman with dark braided hair who dressed like a full-blown Native American with moccasins, a beige animal skin dress, and a headband with a red feather sticking out.

Next to her was what appeared for all intents and purposes like a light orange skull with eyes and a short body composed of magenta appendages and some kind of brown, furry tutu. He also had three feathers sticking out of the top of his head and carried a stick with another small skull on the end.

Finally, the last passenger was a bear with a long snout wearing…yellow shorts and a blue backpack. Bear though he was, his tranquil eyes and quiet demeanor gave the impression of cuddly innocence. The three of them appeared to know one another.

"It's a-good to meet you," Mario said, reaching out and shaking their hands. Since meeting Pac-man and Bomberman (and really since becoming involved in the Smash Tournaments), he was past the stage of being weirded out by diverse Nintendonian beings. "I'm a-Mario."

"I'm Banjo," the bear said heartily with a throaty Southern accent. Suddenly, a red bird with a long yellow beak popped out of his backpack. "And I'm your comic relief. Kazooie's the name. Even though this bumbling idiot I'm attached to is clumsy enough to have his own slapstick comedy show." The Breegull's sass was almost tangible.

Banjo sighed. "Same old Kazooie. But anyway, it's really great to be here. The Isle o' Hags has been kinda boring lately. We heard about these Smash Tournaments a coupla years ago and decided to relocate here for a while in hopes of joinin' in, but sadly, we've yet to get an invitation…."

"Bear and Bird have waited long time," the skull man added in broken phrases. "Mumbo thinks tournament system be rigged." Why Mumbo Jumbo spoke in third person was a mystery even to Banjo—just as perplexing as the similar speech pattern of the shaman's female counterpart.

"Humba knows magic much better than big heap bone brain," Humba Wumba began. Kazooie rolled her eyes; there was literally no topic the two rival shamans couldn't turn into a debate about which one was the better witch doctor. "Humba sees that Master Hand uses big heap dark power to control his armies. He no want fair play; he want control."

The screeching of the carts grew deafening for several seconds as they turned steeply to the right and dropped like a log flume to another flat stretch. They then passed a boarding station on the left, which Impa informed them led up to the north side of the city, near Professor Frankly's library.

"So…you guys came from a place called Isle o' Hags?" Ness felt confused. "I've never heard of it. Why are you helping the Smash Brothers instead of just staying safe at home?"

"You're not much of a history buff, are you, kid?" Kazooie scoffed, gesticulating with her wings. "Our island is deeply connected with your world. I guess you weren't around back then, when the Copyright Wars were in full motion—"

"—Let's keep the history lessons to a minimum, Kazooie," Banjo said, quickly changing the subject. "Right now, we've got bigger things to worry about. 'Cause if Master Hand seizes control, it'll be bad news for everyone, even for those outside the Nintendo Mainland." He turned to Ness. "That's why we're still here—to keep widespread conflicts like the Copyright Wars from happenin' again."

For some reason, the term rang a bell in the plumber's mind, but he couldn't quite recall what the memories were. Clearly it was a sensitive subject for Banjo, so he decided to set the issue aside for another time.

"Tiny psychic boy has big magic skills," Mumbo said to Ness, who decided to take it as a compliment. "You teach us mind powers?"

"Idiot Mumbo not ready for new spells," Humba objected. "He still fails with small magic. You teach real shaman first?"

Fortunately for Ness, he didn't have to answer this question because the mine cart train, after much winding around bends in the tunnel and rolling up and down slopes, began to decelerate. They had reached the end of the line with a similar crude boarding station and another narrow tunnel leading up and out.

"We're here," Impa called from a cart to their left. "The Grande Snifit Hotel. Welcome to Fourside."

* * *

"Your highness, I must insist that we leave at once."

Princess Nyna looked out from the tallest tower of the castle, her heart wrenched by the horrid scene before her. Her home was in ruins. Strange purple beings ran rampant through the streets, contending with the armored guards and pillaging every home they came across. She couldn't understand it; where had they come from? Surely they should have been spotted ten miles away across the desert. Yet here they were, as if they had spontaneously spawned out of the inner wall.

But that wasn't the worst part. Encircling the entire medieval capital were dozens of monstrous creatures ranging in size from ten to thirty feet tall and at least twice as long. Manaketes-turned-dragons were closing in on the outer wall, as if coming to finish off whatever the Wire Frames had started. She couldn't make out the beasts' details from here, but judging from the splotches of color she could see, there were red Fire Dragons, white Ice Dragons, green Wyverns (they were the only airborne ones), and sallow orange Earth Dragons, all converging on them.

Akaneia had a large army of soldiers and warlocks on reserve, but they would be no match for this kind of assault. The Academy's reinforcements were their only hope.

The young woman shook her head, her fair hair looped back into a long ribboned tail that hung down to the waist of her delicate blue-and-white dress, her bright cerulean eyes glistening with noble serenity.

Her bodyguards and advisors looked exasperated. "Princess Nyna, we cannot count on Gotoh's magicians arriving in time. We must evacuate into the catacombs in hopes that you shan't be discovered."

"I will not abandon my people this time."

She leaned out the window, oblivious to her own safety, desperately searching the horizon for some sign of the help they needed. Was all as lost as her chief advisor claimed?

There they were! A small cluster of figures coming from the southeast where she had been facing. She could just make out the solid red dot of Gotoh's robe at the front of some hundred-odd magicians, double-timing it to the gate. And beside him…could it be? Real Smashers? She knew from Impa that Marth and Roy were currently out of the picture, but perhaps Akaneia now stood a chance….

"No, Princess; you won't."

She spun around at the sound of her entire entourage of protectors' throats being slit systemically by a hunched figure in a dark green robe wielding a curved dagger. As the last man crumpled to the stone floor of the royal bedroom, the figure raised his head to display inhumanly gray skin; long, matted black hair; and lifeless white eyes.

Nyna reached for a sword attached to the family crest on the wall behind her, but the man (if he could be called that) waved a hand nonchalantly, pinning her arms to her sides with invisible magic. She trembled, but raised her chin in defiance.

"You're too late. Master Hand may have unlocked the Shield of Seals to gain the allegiance of you and the Dark Dragon, but our heroes will put a stop to your invasion before you have the chance to defeat us."

The corner of Gharnef's wrinkled, zombie-like mouth curled up in a faint smile. He stepped forward and traced Nyna's cheek with a filthy fingernail.

"We shall see, Princess. You're coming with me. Medeus is anxious to meet you."

* * *

"Remember what we discussed," Gotoh shouted as they advanced on the dragon-guarded gate. "My mages will fend off the Manaketes the best we can; your priority is to penetrate the palace and extract Princess Nyna before Gharnef and Medeus get to her."

The two Fire Dragons directly in front of the gate turned around at the sound of Gotoh's voice and snarled, uninhibited aggression flaring from their yellow reptilian eyes as smoke puffed out of their nostrils. They beat their leathery wings and began stomping toward the newcomers.

Kirby and Mr. Game & Watch dashed forward to meet the fiery guardians. The dragons took a deep breath and exhaled the inevitable: Two streams of restless flames surged toward them. They both slid forward underneath the fire's trajectory, Kirby weightless and able to collapse himself to the height of a trampled piece of chewing gum, Mr. Game & Watch taking advantage of his two-dimensional properties to flatten himself as he ran and then come back up.

In response, the Fire Dragons spat identical fireballs down at the approaching heroes, realizing they would have to be slightly less casual about these tiny foes than they typically were when devouring infantry. Once again, however, the Smashers were prepared for the attack. Kirby opened his mouth as wide as a dinner platter and sucked in one of the balls, swallowing with a satisfied gulp. He jumped and spun around a few times as he transformed into Fire Kirby, complete with rippling red Hades hair and an emerald pendant shining on his forehead. Meanwhile, G.W. simply collected the other fireball in his black bucket, filling it to the brim.

As one, Kirby and G.W. leapt at the two dragons. Kirby spewed several fireballs at the left one's face while his companion dumped his bucket of black sludge on the other. The beasts were briefly distracted, but being attacked by their own element wasn't going to do much lasting damage.

Realizing this, the Smashers opted for another strategy. While the dragons descended upon them with their claws, Kirby jumped in front of G.W. and transformed into a spike-studded ball of metal. As he dropped toward the ground, Game & Watch swung his Judgment Hammer for a perfect score of "9," propelling Kirby like a cannonball. The spiky sphere struck first one and then the other in the head, knocking the dragons over as easily as a combine going cow-tipping.

Gotoh led his mages between the fallen creatures up to the gate itself, which was made of thick iron that surely even dragons would have difficulty penetrating. But as they neared it, the ground rumbled beneath their feet and something enormous sprouted from the earth on the other side. It hammered against the gate with the force of an Onyx's Fissure, deepening an ominous bulge in the door with each hit.

The gate crashed open to reveal a feral Earth Dragon, freshly released from its magical prison and thirsty for human blood, the jagged spikes running along its spine made of solid rock. It roared the roar of a damned dragon.

A blast of white energy struck it full in the face, both blinding it and driving it back into the castle town. Sparks fizzled out from Gotoh's fingertips as he looked at the Smashers. "Go, now! The princess will be in the stronghold. It's the tallest building at the center of the city; you can't miss it. She will most likely be retreating into the catacombs. We shall handle the dragons out here. GO!"

As he spoke, several more Earth and Fire Dragons appeared around the corner of the outer wall, converging on the group of magicians. Luigi, Peasley, Young Link, Kirby, and Game & Watch hurried past the door, past the still-cringing Earth Dragon, into the heart of Akaneia. Luigi looked behind him to see Gotoh using magic to raise the iron door back into place, bolts of magic and jets of flames cross-firing in the background. The mages had chosen where they would make their stand.

He had little time to worry about his new friends, for his attention was soon seized by the multitude of Wire Frames awaiting them. Peasants screamed and fled into hovels and shops and basements, mothers dragging and carrying their children, husbands and fathers staying behind to fend off the Wire Frames from their homes. Plumes of smoke curled from several buildings, while others had caved in from being stricken by Wyverns diving from the sky.

He watched as Peasley and Young Link led the assault, slicing their way through the fray, taking occasional blows but forcing themselves to recover and cover each others' backs. Kirby swallowed a female Frame accosting a man with a pitchfork and spat it out as a shining yellow star to strike several Wire Frames behind it, repeating the technique as he cleared a path on the left side of the street. Game & Watch ran forward on the right side swinging his black turtle like a rubber chicken (except it packed a considerably bigger punch).

Luigi then remembered he was still standing in front of the gate and almost tripped as he lumbered after them. He thought of the princess trapped in the tower; normally it would be Mario who would come to the rescue, but now it was his turn. He spun down the street in spurts of Luigi Cyclones, punching and kicking and hoping he didn't accidentally hit someone's baby as he whirled down the stone road.

They proceeded in this way for some time, occasionally ducking behind narrow alleys to avoid a descending Wyvern. It felt similar in some ways to the siege of Beanbean Castle, except Akaneia was several times larger and was under threat not only by Wire Frames but by a horde of giant mythical lizards. Plus, none of them were at all familiar with this country, so they were flying by the seat of their pants.

At last, they approached the entrance to the central stronghold, the Wire Frames thinning out as the Akaneian soldiers became more and more frequent. Luigi had to hand it to these people; they were a lot braver than he was. He felt terrified enough as it was, and he had a clan of superpowered Smashers at his side. These men had no way of knowing whether they would survive such a battle against impossible and supernatural odds, yet their sole focus was to defend their wives, children, and kingdom.

The armored warriors seemed to have anticipated the Smashers' arrival, for they parted to let them through to the wooden double-doored entrance, cheering as the foreign heroes filed inside.

Although the exterior merely gave the impression of a well-fortified fortress, inside the stronghold it was an elaborate and beautiful place. It was like stepping directly into a Greek Mythology textbook: High, arched ceilings; classical columns stretching like huge stone churros all the way to the top some 80 feet above; red carpets and flags bearing dragon emblems; and massive human statues suggesting that Michelangelo had gone through a phase of epic warrior sculpting.

Once the doors shut behind them, the near silence was rather unsettling; they could barely hear the occasional screech of a dragon, and the yells of men were only slightly more audible than the microscopic residents of Whoville. They walked down the grand hall to where two staircases led above and below. The torch-lit chamber was generally well illuminated, but before they reached the staircase leading underground, a figure emerged from the shadows of one of the pillars and stationed itself solidly in their way. It was wielding a sword.

Until then, the five of them had been silent. But Young Link was the first to recognize the guardian and couldn't contain his mixed surprise and dismay.

"Metal Marth," he said.

"Right-o." Peasley advanced toward the clone with his rapier pointed at the enemy. "Press on, comrades; I shall dispose of this deplorable duplicate!"

Appearing to understand Peasley's challenge, Metal Marth advanced toward its quarry, leaving the stairway open for the rest of them to pass through.

Metal clashed against metal as the two princes began to duel. Young Link, Kirby, and Luigi edged their way around the swordsmen and began their descent into the darkness.

Mr. Game & Watch, however, lingered at the top of the stairs and looked back. From the Smash Tournaments, he knew how tough an opponent Marth was. This one was made of solid metal; even if Peasley managed to get in a blow, his rapier would penetrate the clone about as well as a herring through a redwood tree. As much as he loathed Peasley's prideful personality, he couldn't let that become the cause of his death.

"You go on," he called mechanically to the others as he turned to the sparring match. "I have a score to set-tle."

* * *

They continued down to the catacombs, the air growing frigid and the splendor of the entrance hall transitioning to grime and the grotesque pungency of death and decay.

"What if the princess is a-still above us?" Luigi felt uneasy about none of them going to search upstairs for Nyna, and he was even less sure about leaving Peasley and G.W. to face Metal Marth alone.

"Then she'll either meet up with Peasley and Game & Watch, or we'll come back and find her ourselves," Young Link said. "If she's down here, she'll be able to hear us coming. From what I've heard, these guys are _really_ dangerous; we've got to stick together."

"HI!" Kirby shouted, his adorable voice echoing down the stairs into the dark passages beyond. His Fire Kirby hat continued to light their way much more effectively than the small torches on the walls.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and found themselves in a narrow subterranean labyrinth that split off unhelpfully in several directions. They stopped and listened, but no sounds came back in response.

"Halooo-oo?" Luigi shivered in the dim torch-lit tunnel. He was uncomfortably reminded of the basement of the haunted mansion he had "won" once upon a time.

"Princess Nyna, we're here to help!" Young Link yelled.

After thirty seconds that felt more like an hour, they heard a faint voice coming from the rightmost pathway.

"That way," Young Link said, bounding off down the narrow passage.

They passed by several short chambers that he guessed held entombed royalty. The trail wound further down until it seemed as if they had been swallowed by the earth and would never see the surface again. Then, strangely, something started to change.

"Why is it getting so hot?" Young Link wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, his feet aching inside his boots from the uneven ground. No one answered.

Some five minutes later, it opened out into a large cavern that presented to them a truly horrible sight.

A narrow bridge of black rock led to a wide platform, which was balanced on a narrow neck that rose up from a lake of boiling lava. Dark stalactites hung like vampire teeth from the high ceiling.

 _How far down are we?"_ the boy thought.

But what caught their attention were the occupants of the precarious platform. A young woman in a stately white-and-blue gown was on her hands and knees before the imposing bulk of a deep purple dragon—the Dark Dragon, Medeus. She didn't seem to have much of a choice as to her current position. At the girl's side was a hunched figure in a green cloak. Gharnef grinned through rotting teeth as his revenge was about to be exacted.

"Lord Medeus, accept this offering and be appeased for my past failures. Though Nyna was originally to be one of the four maidens sacrificed to enact thy resurrection, with the Master Hand's help, that is no longer necessary. Still, once thou hast devoured her, all of Akaneia shall weep and bow before their new masters!"

Unlike the others, this dragon seemed to be much less savage and instinctive. But the methodical way he approached Princess Nyna, without making any extra sound, made him that much more terrifying. And then, a deep voice that caused one's mind to squirm in fear:

" _I accept your offering…."_

Medeus reached his claw toward Nyna's frozen figure….

"Not so fast!"

Both Dark Dragon and sorcerer turned to face Young Link, Luigi, and Kirby, who stood stolidly on the other side of the short stone bridge. Young Link unsheathed his Kokiri sword and narrowed his eyes. He knew this must be what he was meant to come here for: to save Princess Nyna and Akaneia.

"Ah, heroes…." Gharnef looked more amused than afraid. "The Master Hand told us you might come to disrupt our plan."

Medeus beat his powerful, skeletal wings, the webbed flesh behind his head giving him the appearance of a Dilophosaurus.

" _You want to save the girl? Come and try, then."_

"Poyo!"

Without warning, Kirby bounced off the ledge toward the lava pool—only to come back up riding a brilliant yellow Warp Star. He belched a particularly large fireball at Medeus's head, which shrieked with rage. The Star Warrior then did a derogative circuit around the dragon and looped upward into what looked like a lava tube leading up toward the surface.

" _The Pink One is mine…."_ Successfully ticked off, Medeus launched himself off the platform and disappeared into the black opening in the ceiling.

This left Luigi and Young Link to confront Gharnef. They cross the bridge each in their own manner—the former via Green Missile, the latter by using his grappling hook to latch onto one of the lower-hanging stalactites and swinging over the lava onto the platform.

Gharnef cackled. "I admire your nerve. Still, you shall suffer for your insolence; it will take more than a plumber and a fairy boy to defeat me!"

He drew a dagger with one hand and conjured a rippling sphere of orange energy with the other, then hurled it at Young Link.

Luigi cut off Gharnef's magic with a green fireball of his own, then formed a second and chucked it at the zombie-like man. Gharnef waved Luigi's fireball away with his free hand and used his dagger to block Young Link's sneak attack with the ease of a demigod. He lifted Luigi off the ground with his intangible magic and flung him into the unforgiving chamber wall. Luigi gasped and fell limply toward the lava….

Young Link's Hookshot caught his overalls inches above the bubbling magma and dragged him back onto the platform. But the Hylian had sacrificed his advantageous position to save his friend, and from behind, Gharnef slashed down his back with relish. Young Link fell on his face and fainted.

Panting, Luigi stood back up and glanced with panic at his fellow Smasher's body. He decided it was time to pull out all the stops—or in this case, his iron Super Hammer. He lunged from the side and sank his mallet into Gharnef's gut while the magician was in the middle of savoring his first victim. The hammer knocked the wind out of him and cast him head over heel across the platform.

"Link…get up!"

Navi appeared from out of Young Link's cap and poked at his body, then dug into his belt and uncorked a bottle with a pink Healing Fairy. It sprung joyously from its glass prison and spread its glittering magic over the boy's body, reviving him almost instantly before fluttering away.

While Young Link got back on his feet, Luigi pressed his advantage and jumped over to where Gharnef lay groaning. He brought his hammer down with the intent of smashing the warlock like a lump of dough, but he found himself frozen inches above his target, gripped in Gharnef's paralyzing magic.

Young Link, seeing Luigi's plight, rushed Gharnef with his sword pointed toward the man's chest. But he, too, found his weapon and his body frozen just before hitting home.

Gharnef grunted like a wounded bear as he got to his feet, using both of his hands to hold the heroes in place with his dark hex.

"You've fought well, heroes. Better than I'd anticipated. Now, I shall reward you with the pleasure of witnessing firsthand the death of the princess."

He turned to where Nyna was still immobilized on her hands and knees and raised his dagger. Luigi and Young Link strained with all their might, but they couldn't break free of his invisible grip.

From inside Young Link's tunic, Navi shot out and bonked Gharnef on the nose. Enraged, he swung his dagger wildly in an attempt to slice the blue fairy, but she was too quick for him. She knocked the dagger out of his hand and struck his right eye.

Gharnef howled in pain. He brought his hands together as if he were holding an invisible football, generated a mass of crackling orange energy, and swung it in front of him. Navi emitted a high-pitched shriek as she was caught in the energy. After it passed through her, there was nothing left. She was gone.

 _NAVI!_ Young Link wanted to scream. But he couldn't. Not only had he failed to save the princess, but his most loyal friend had been dissolved by this monster. He couldn't believe what he had seen. It couldn't be true.

With a hand pressed to his bleeding eye, Gharnef plucked his dagger from the ground and lunged toward Nyna's throat….

A blast of pure white enveloped him from the tunnel entrance. He was blown off the edge as if he had been hit by a semi-truck, smacked into the rocky wall, and tumbled into the lava. As Gharnef slowly sank into the pool, his eyes were filled with hate and disbelief until his face was enshrouded by the lethal liquid.

Young Link, Luigi, and Princess Nyna were released from their invisible bonds, gasping and shuddering. They turned to behold Gotoh in the tunnel entrance with a look of grim satisfaction on his face.

"I really ought to rethink my apprenticeship methods," he said. "Now let us pray that our friends on the outside can withstand the Dark Dragon…."

* * *

Sunset was approaching, and the battle was not going well. The Akaneian soldiers were faring decently well against the Wire Frames, but with the addition of dragons which had now penetrated the outer walls, they had little hope of prevailing against all of them. Especially since no matter how many Wire Frames they slew, Master Hand's pawns just kept on coming from who-knows-where.

Gotoh's mages were in even worse shape. They had taken on the brunt of the dragon attacks, and already most of them had been injured and several of them killed. It would be a matter of minutes before the city capitulated entirely to its enemies.

Their spirits lifted slightly when Kirby popped out of a magma hole outside the wall riding a shining Warp Star, but when a jet of flames and the Dark Dragon himself swiftly followed suit, the defenders felt even more hopeless. Surely not even the legendary Smashers could triumph over this ancient fiend: the Manakete that had almost proved their nation's undoing on several occasions and had only been stopped with the help of the Divine Dragons' Falchion blade.

Sure enough, even with Kirby's expert maneuvering, Medeus was smart and perceptive. He anticipated the puffball's flight pattern and opened his maw to swallow him whole like a flaming ball of cotton candy.

A green laser cut the dragon off, striking him in the underside and chasing him away from Kirby for the time being. From the clouds above descended the Great Fox, guns ablaze. Alongside the large spacecraft flew three smaller units.

"Woo-hoo!" Slippy Toad steered his Arwing, the Bullfrog, steadily down toward the siege below, trying to keep in mind that Popo was balanced precariously on his wing. The Ice Climber had harnessed himself to his belay line, which was secured to the underside of the vessel. He began lobbing Freezies off the edge in hopes of giving a few Wire Frames and dragons a bad day.

"This is it, Charizard!" Red clung tightly to his dragon Pokémon as they soared through the sky, the creature's tail alight with a flame as ardent as his energy. Before departing from Saffron, Red had been sure this time to stock up with his best Pokémon. This time he would be prepared for whatever came their way.

"Yoshi?" Yoshi asked from beside them. He had just swallowed a special Fire Flower he'd plucked from the Donut Plains on his way to the Icicle Mountains. Not only did this grant him fire breath, but he sported angelic wings that made him yet another flying dragon to be added to the count. His question was, "Where are Pichu and Jigglypuff?"

Red just grinned.

* * *

Inside the Great Fox, Peppy expertly directed the Great Fox in a spiraling descent to where they would be within better firing range of the grounded dragons. He had several of the ship's lasers on automatic, but some of them had to be operated manually.

"How're you doin' down there?" he called over his shoulder.

"Pichu!"

"Puff!"

The two minute Pokémon aimed and fired their laser canons with delight from pods attached to the underside of the Great Fox. Despite their lack of digits, they were sufficiently dexterous to control the pivoting guns. "I could get used to this!" one had said. "I guess this is what it's like to use Hyper Beam," agreed the other.

* * *

"Look out!"

Red's Pokémon swerved as a cluster of Wyverns came at them. Charizard spiraled out of the way of one's incoming claws and peppered a few with Flamethrower. One particularly angry Wyvern snuck up from behind, intent on clamping its razor-sharp teeth on Charizard's wing. With his arms firmly locked around the Pokémon's neck, Red kicked the beast in the mouth with his tennis shoe before it could do so.

They reached a low-enough height to be able to pick out individual dragons and Wire Frames. Charizard selected a group of Earth Dragons closing in on several mages and looped around, blowing a Fire Spin into the dragons' faces and distracting them long enough for the mages below to produce a powerful earthquake that shook the half-submerged beasts into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Yikes! I've got a bogey on my tail!"

Slippy tried to lose the Wyvern that was pursuing him, but the persistent dragon couldn't be shaken. It bumped the Bullfrog from beneath, nearly dislodging Popo from his perch on the wing, then came from above for an aerial strike.

Popo waited until the last possible moment, then swung his mallet up, hammering the Wyvern's jaw and causing it to retreat in pursuit of easier prey.

"Whew! Thanks, Popo," Slippy said. His voice was muffled by the cockpit window and the air whipping past them, but still just audible. "That was a close one….Hey, what's say we lend a hand down there, yeah?"

He'd spotted two Ice Dragons terrorizing a block of hovels, literally freezing the homes and residents while dislodging heavy stone blocks from the walls with their serpentine periwinkle bodies.

"Let's do it!" Popo shouted, figuring even if the pilot couldn't hear what he said, he could read his affirmative body language.

They veered down to the height they had agreed upon beforehand for the maneuver they were about to execute. As Slippy leveled out, Popo gave a tug on the rope around his waist and hopped off, swinging by the line and drawing out his weapon of choice.

The Ice Dragon bellowed with extreme discomfort as the Smasher stuck his ice pick straight into the creature's eye. His body swung out a bit further, then came back just in time for him to lobotomize the other Ice Dragon as well.

While the dragons writhed in pain, Slippy did a U-turn and fired several double-laser shots into each enemy, thus preventing any more neighborhoods from experiencing a sudden ice age.

They went off to fight other dragons, Popo proving particularly helpful as he blasted several Fire Dragons with their icy weakness.

* * *

Medeus retreated just far enough until the Great Fox left to focus elsewhere, then came back around to finish what he'd started. Where was that infernal pink blob? Ah! Now it would pay!

Kirby zoomed straight toward the Dark Dragon, trying not to enjoy himself too much. He made straight for Medeus's head. As expected, the beast's mouth spewed a stream of fire to cut off his approach. He angled his Warp Star so that it passed right under the dragon's belly and came back up the other side and turned around to watch his much friendlier dragon companion do his thing.

Yoshi spat a number of fireballs at Medeus from above, scoring a perfect five-for-five. However, his efforts didn't have quite the effect he intended; instead of injuring him, the fire seemed to absorb into the dark scaly hide. The entire dragon was suddenly aflame with a purple radiance that led Yoshi to conclude that throwing more fuel onto this fire would not be a great idea.

But Kirby had already begun diving toward the Dark Dragon before he realized what had become of Yoshi's attack. He slammed into what turned out to be incredibly hard skin, crying out as his Warp Star crashed and burned, his Fire Copy Ability deserted him, and his small, scorched body sort of fell and floated a couple hundred feet until he landed in the middle of a demolished marketplace, looking for all the world as if he were lost in a deep sleep.

"Yoshi!" The flying green Smasher was devastated by what happened to Kirby and had attempted to go after him to soften the fall, but he was robbed of that opportunity by a wall of flames that cut off his escape.

 _"Face me, you pitiful dragon,"_ Medeus boomed. _"I did not rise from the ashes to allow cowards to live in my presence."_

Though he was not quick to be offended or angered, Yoshi felt a surge of righteous indignance jolt through his body, and he turned to face the Dark Dragon, who was easily twenty times his size—if not more.

He looked desperately at Medeus's fiery body; there was nothing he could do to harm him from the outside without being burnt before he could make contact. The Great Fox, meanwhile, was under assault by at least a dozen Wyverns; it couldn't help this time. There was only one thing to do….

Yoshi tilted his body and shot skyward, heading into the clouds.

 _"You cannot escape your fate, vermin!"_

Medeus sped after him, fixed on Yoshi like a heat-seeking missile roughly the size of a barge. Up through the clouds they raced, creating a gaping hole in the wispy formations as they climbed higher and higher.

Medeus disgorged a particularly large fireball, which didn't seem all that remarkable until it split off into an X-shape of smaller but equally dangerous bursts. Yoshi yelped as one skimmed his tail. He struggled to dodge the rest, and while he did so, the Dark Dragon pressed forward with ever-increasing speed, his powerful, aerodynamic body stronger than Yoshi's in every way. His maw gaped open like a monstrous Venus flytrap, preparing his final blast that would be meant to roast Yoshi like a barbecued chicken.

When the end seemed inevitable, Yoshi suddenly jarred to a halt in midair and Ground-Pounded straight into Medeus's glowing mouth—the only part of the Manakete that wasn't protected by a coat of fire.

At first Medeus felt triumphant—what a fool! He had fled all this way just to plunge straight to his death in the end. But then he realized the large object in his mouth that was Yoshi was not going down his throat. His lizard-like pupils narrowed in surprised. He choked, shook his great horned head back and forth, tried to swallow and failed, gasped for breath, and then began to plummet himself.

Inside the Dark Dragon's mouth, Yoshi had his long tongue wrapped around his enemy's punching bag-sized uvula, refusing to let go and fall into the monster's stomach.

It is useless to try to describe what it was like for Yoshi to fall hundreds of feet inside a monster's mouth, suspended by his tongue. But perhaps the closest way to replicate it would be to board a broken elevator on the top floor of the Empire State Building, superglue your tongue to the roof, and let it freefall while spinning the elevator like a tilt-a-whirl.

Medeus crashed onto the crenellated ramparts of the Akaneian stronghold. He struggled for breath for several minutes more, wondered how he could have been bested by such a tiny dragon, and died.

Yoshi, dizzy beyond belief, stepped out of the dead dragon's mouth, covered in thick goopy saliva, and gazed out at Akaneia, plumes of smoke and all. The Wire Frames were no more, and whatever dragons had remained after witnessing Medeus's literal downfall fled into the wilderness, resolving to choose their battles more selectively in the future.

Yoshi allowed himself a small smile as a flower of hope bloomed in his heart. The battle was won.


	12. Chapter 9: The Great Fourside City

Book 2

The Tournament

* * *

Chapter 9: The Great Fourside City

* * *

 _ **T**_ o the surprise of no one, Wario and Waluigi were not actually loyal to the Smash Brothers. Indeed, almost a year ago, they had been employed in Master Hand's service under the direction of The Shadow. It might seem perplexing why the Smash Tournament host would enlist the help of such generally incompetent individuals—except for the fact that they were the proud owners of WarioWare, Inc., a prodigious tech corporation that held great influence in the sector surrounding Fourside Colosseum. Beyond the company's sponsorship and manipulation of the upcoming tournament, there was the added bonus that none of the current Smash Brothers really knew the two alter egos well enough to know not to trust them with so much as a stapler. True, Mario had joined them now, but it was too late for him or his friends to stop the events that had been carefully put into motion.

All one really needed to win Wario and Waluigi's loyalty was a way to satisfy—or, rather, appetize—their greed. Accordingly, each week The Shadow left them a bag of Coins in their studio apartment on the top floor of Wario Tower, which stood some twenty stories above the city streets and featured a fat purple "W" on the side. And to think, all they had to do was to make a few modifications to the colosseum itself and follow certain regulations regarding the "open enrollment" status of the tournament. Sure, they already had enough gold to take baths in the company's daily earnings, but when there was money to be made, the Wario brothers tended not to care how or why they made it. Money was their god, daily bread, ambition, and way of life all rolled into one.

"My master does not like mistakes," The Shadow warned them on the tower's rooftop the night before the tournament would begin. "Fulfill your end of the bargain and you will have treasure beyond your wildest dreams. Fail, and...well, let's just say there's not place in This World you will be able to hide from him."

Wario and Waluigi gulped, then nodded vigorously to ensure their employer understood their willingness to comply. Wario, who had the appearance of an obese Mario with magenta overalls, yellow shirt, and a cap sporting a "W" imitative of the Mario Brothers, could feel drops of sweat pouring down his piggish face and across his zig-zagging mustache. Waluigi, although in possession of a faster metabolism, couldn't help his twig-thin body from trembling within his corresponding black overalls and dark purple hat and shirt, the letter on his hat resembling an upside-down "L."

Without another word, the cloaked figure twirled on his feet and disappeared into the shadows of the night, leaving the traitors to mentally review several more times their instructions for the next few days. There could be no mistakes.

* * *

"Are you sure you have to go?"

By now, the F-Zero terminal on the northern border of Fourside was all but deserted. The excitement of the race had passed; now, the only ones left were Professor E. Gadd, Roy, Samus, Fox, and Jody Summer as they worked out their next move.

Summer's face was still as gaunt and tear-stained as it had been since the race had ended. She nodded. "I appreciate everything you've done, Professor. But the Federation will need me back in Mute City to file the report after…." She seemed unable to bring herself to say what all of them were thinking: _Dr. Robert Stewart was dead._

"I suppose so." Gadd sighed. He shook Summer's hand, not much one for deep emotional consolation. "Well, thank you for all you've done, Jody. We would most certainly not have made it this far without your guidance."

To everyone's surprise, Samus removed her helmet and stepped forward to face Summer eye to eye. "You're one hell of a pilot," she said with the faint inkling of a smile. "I'll never forget what you and Dr. Stewart have done. I didn't know him well, but he died for a noble cause. I'm sure he wouldn't have it any other way."

"If you ever need our help, we're just a call away," Fox added.

"Same to you," Summer said. There was a long pause. "Goodbye, then."

She climbed back into the White Cat without another word and was gone.

Roy looked out the terminal window at the thousands of yellow lights that marked the city night life. A shuttle port was connected to the terminal, so they had only to wait for the next shuttle to arrive and bear them away into the urban center.

"Now what?"

"Impa told us to meet tonight at the Grande Snifit Hotel," Gadd said, consulting his digital map. "We're runnin' a bit late because of our Mute City detour, but if we hurry we should get there before everyone's asleep."

And so they sat in the terminal and waited, sobered by the jarring realities they had been subjected to that day. Somehow, even after everything they'd been through—the ambush on Hyrule Castle; the pursuit of Metal Young Link; the snare that awaited them in the haunted mansion—even after all that, none of it had seemed quite real until Master Hand had actually taken a life. That sort of thing wasn't commonplace in the Nintendo World; despite endless conflicts and villainous rampages within each kingdom, there was a sort of stasis that seemed to dictate that in order for their world to go on, heroes and villains alike must fight—fight, but not die. Yet with Metal Captain Falcon's most recent murder of such a good, genuine man, that unspoken expectation had been broken. With Master Hand, there were no rules.

Some twenty minutes later, an evening shuttle made port. It was, of course, empty except for the operator; no one had any reason to come here at this time of night.

They boarded the Twinkie-shaped pod and rode the rail down into the heart of Fourside. If it hadn't been for what he had already been through that day, Roy would have been terrified of the technological marvel, gripping the rail like a terracotta warrior to his sword. But after the trauma of the F-Zero race, the shuttle felt about as fast as a sea cucumber.

Despite himself, the swordsman had to admire the splendor of the city: bright neon signs and flashy advertisements for Chef Kawasaki's spicy curry and a cornucopia of diverse vehicles crowding the streets. He didn't think he could stand living in such a flashy place, but he had a feeling that it would make for a very interesting visit.

He'd lost track of how much time had passed when, several stops later, they finally reached their destination. Gadd led them out of the automatic sliding doors, sidling past a family of Toads that were boarding the shuttle on their way to see _Kirby's Nightmare in Dreamland: The Movie_ at the theater.

Roy looked up at the towering face of the hotel. He didn't even try to count how many floors there were, but what he did know was that this place had seen better days. The bronze rails and glass revolving doors were rusted and clouded over. The giant image of a Snifit (which was essentially a Shy Guy with a black mask and a small tubular mouth) had fallen almost 90 degrees askew of its original position as it were halfway through a cartwheel. Above it, the letters making up the hotel's name were displayed in an old-fashioned script typeface, every second or third letter flickering between red and black or just refusing to light up altogether. What must have once been a four-star hotel had become an antique on the precipice of inutility.

"This is the place," Gadd said. They pushed their way through one of the revolving doors, which squeaked like a tortured mouse. They came out the other side into the equally-decrepit lobby and found….

"No way," Roy breathed. "It can't be."

* * *

Two hours earlier, the Smash Brothers came out of a storage room near the back of the hotel's main floor. Impa had guided them up from the end of the mineshaft to a heavy trap door that opened into an extremely dusty chamber filled with boxes, old furniture, and baggage carts. Ness coughed as he climbed onto the filthy floor close behind Mario and Impa, the rest of the Smash Brothers patiently lined up below (except King Dedede, who kept complaining that he forgot to bring a sandwich).

The heavy metal door moved stubbornly slow behind Impa's muscular body, but open it did. They found themselves in the hotel lobby, which was spacious but completely empty except for a few withering potted plants in the corners and a small bench beside a reception desk near the front. Behind it, a green-shelled Koopa was snoring in front of a computer. A couple hallways branched off to each side, no doubt leading to the suites on the first floor and to the stairs and elevators. Two revolving doors marked the entrance on the opposite side.

It was a boring sight to Ness. That is, until he noticed the door directly to the right of the one they had just passed through. It appeared identical in every way—except from behind the cracks, a white light shone as if it were a portal leading directly to heaven.

"What's in there?" Ness wondered out loud.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Impa said. Ness suspected that she was being intentionally enigmatic, but he decided not to push the issue for the time being.

They made room as over a hundred resistance fighters filed into the lobby, inevitably breaking out in chatter that somehow still didn't wake up the hotel clerk. Once they were all inside, Darunia closed the door behind him and bellowed for everyone to be quiet.

"Thank you all for coming," Impa said, standing at the front of the group (the Koopa was still sound asleep). "Tomorrow, the tournament commences. Our objective is to see most of the Original 25 united while making sure Master Hand doesn't pull a fast one during the competition. If all goes well, in a few days' time we will be that much more prepared to strike back at our enemy and bring peace to the Nintendo World."

A roar of approval and cheering ensued. Darunia yelled again to shut them up.

"I have contacted Professor E. Gadd and Princess Nyna; the rest of the Smash Brothers should be arriving soon. Until then, make yourselves comfortable." She said that last bit as if it were possible in such a barren building.

Most of them sat on the ground or stood in clusters as they waited for the others to come. Ness and Mario were making their way away from a heated argument between Mumbo Jumbo and Humba Wumba over to what promised to be more civil company among a group of Toads (which included Toadette) when a massive projected image appeared on the full length of the white wall to the left. Everyone stopped talking and turned with perplexity to the figure on the projector screen.

It was difficult to describe: some kind of yellow cat-like creature standing on two legs with white ruffles around its neck, a short elephantine nose, and a silver coin hanging by a string in its hand. There was a vaguely Egyptian feel about the Pokémon. It began swinging the coin back and forth.

 _"Hypno…Hypno…Hypno…."_

The few representatives of the Kanto Region that were present barely had time to register what was going on before the Pokémon's Hypnosis had transfixed them all and begun to take effect. The room was silent as every Smash Brother followed the coin with their eyes against their will. It was like a crowd of drunken men watching the Super Bowl.

Ness's judgment was oddly clouded, and he grew woozier and sleepier as the coin continued to swing back and forth…back and forth….

 _"Hypno…Hypno…Hypno…."_

* * *

"Akaneia will be forever in your debt," Nyna said as the Smashers prepared to depart from the castle town.

"Well," Mr. Game & Watch said, thinking about the two sieges he'd faced in just the past couple days. "Based on the way things are go-ing with Mas-ter Hand, you may soon have the chance to pay it off."

"Piiichu?" Pichu asked, perched on his trainer's shoulder.

"He's right," Red said. "We'd better go figure out why a burning ship just fell out of the sky. There might be survivors who need our help."

Nyna exchanged a meaningful glance with Gotoh; both of them were assembled at the front gate along with an entourage of Akaneian soldiers, villagers, and mages.

"Of course," she said. "We would come with you if we had the resources, but it fell too far away, and unfortunately we have a demolished city to clean up. If you do find survivors, it will be faster to take them into Fourside than to try and bring them back here."

"Gotcha," Slippy said, ready to be off. He and Peppy had been forced to join the grounded party of Smashers because although the Great Fox had survived the dragon battle, it had sustained enough damages that it would require some time for repairs to be made to get the ship back in the air. From here on out, they would be on foot.

"Remember," Gotoh added as the twelve heroes turned to leave. "You must meet the Smash Brothers at the Grande Snifit Hotel. Do not make any side trips; Master Hand will have cronies hidden throughout Fourside like poisoned cherries."

"Cherries?" Kirby said hopefully, although without much enthusiasm; he was barely well enough to travel since his unpleasant contact with Medeus's flaming hide.

Then, Young Link, who had been awfully quiet since the battle had ended, suddenly burst out: "I…I'm sorry I failed to protect you, Princess Nyna. I just wasn't…strong enough."

Everyone looked at the boy with at least some degree of confusion, most of all Nyna. She smiled and put a delicate hand on Young Link's shoulder."

"Nonsense; you and Master Luigi saved my life." Her smile faded and she lowered her eyes. "Especially your fairy friend…Navi….It is I who owes you an apology. She did not deserve to die in my place. As I said before, I can never repay the debt I owe you."

Young Link nodded, but then turned and started out across the desert night without waiting for the other Smashers to follow.

She looked after him with sadness and turned to Luigi and the others. "Take care of him," she said.

"We shall," Peasley said.

With that, they were off. As much as each of the travelers wanted to stop for the next few days and sleep, with the pressing concerns of a burning shipwreck and the gathering at the Grande Snifit Hotel in just a few hours, they could not afford that luxury—at least, not until they were in the city. Then, they would fall into a glorious sleep, even if it had to be on the empty floor of the lobby.

As they trekked across the desert toward where the burning ship had descended a few miles away, Peasley and G.W. took turns eagerly recounting how they had defeated Metal Marth—how even their tag team efforts were no match until Game & Watch stepped outside, gathered a bucketful of dragon fire, and used it to melt the clone into a molten heap.

Luigi was taken aback, but pleasantly so, by how much their relationship had changed. He, however, was more interested in catching up with Yoshi—the first face from home that he had seen since Parakarry had delivered that fateful letter to him from Master Hand. It seemed like an eternity ago.

"Have you seen Mario?" Yoshi asked. He would have offered his saddle to his old rider had Kirby's dazed figure not been upon it.

Luigi shook his head. "That's a-why we're going to fight a-Master Hand. To get him and the Princess a-back."

Slippy and Popo were exchanging similar stories with Peppy about how they had taken down several dragons themselves—Arwing and Eskimo united.

This left Red and Young Link, who walked some distance ahead of the rest. Pichu and Jigglypuff had decided to return to their Pokéballs for ease of travel.

"You know, I lost my father when I was just a few years old," he said. "I barely remember him at all. But I do remember how I felt when he was gone…it was as if a part of my world had abandoned me forever and there was nothing I could do about it."

Young Link said nothing.

Red put an arm around the boy. "It wasn't your fault."

"You don't understand." Young Link shrugged off Red's arm and turned away. "The Great Deku Tree sent me to Akaneia with Navi to help someone 'in a way no one else can.' He was wrong. I not only couldn't save the princess without Gotoh to step in and do all the work, but I let Navi die for nothing."

Red was silent for a moment, considering what he had said. Then: "I won't pretend to understand how your Great Dooka Tree's prophecies work. But we're still in Akaneia. Maybe the one you were meant to help wasn't Princess Nyna. Maybe it was one of us."

Young Link's mind flashed back to when Luigi had been falling into the lava, and he had snagged him with his Hookshot just in time. True, he had helped in that way. But it still didn't feel like something no one else could have done.

The party hiked across the desert until they crested a large sand dune that looked down upon the wooden ship's smoldering wreckage. It appeared as out of place as an Olympic athlete in a donut shop. The flames were beginning to subside, but there was no sign of anyone.

"Hello?"

Red stepped down cautiously toward the shattered hull, which now vaguely resembled the shape of a banana split. He was less than fifty feet away when a translucent blue sphere flickered from within the dark rift at the center. Suddenly, the PK Shield carried its eleven occupants out of the ship onto the desert sand.

Red came to a halt, as did all those behind him. So many newcomers were difficult to take in, and he only recognized a couple of them….

Poo and Paula, exhausted, relinquished their PSI magic, allowing the force field to dissipate now that they had landed intact—deeply shaken, but alive. But unfortunately, that was the only thing separating two of the Rainbow Ride crew's less amicable members from their sworn enemies.

"You!" Ganondorf growled. He leapt up the sand dune and brought his fist down to where Young Link's head would have been if he hadn't rolled aside a fraction of a second earlier.

"Green 'Stache? It's my lucky day!" Bowser curled up into his shell and whirled up the dune shortly after the Gerudo, knocking Luigi into the sand and causing him to roll down the rest of the hill.

Spectators on both sides backed away for their own safety and to get an idea of what was going on. Young Link, seeing Luigi's plight, hopped down next to the ship to help him up, then turned to face the two antagonists.

"Don't you have better things to do?"

"Nope," Bowser said.

Upon recognizing Bowser, Yoshi made to ambush him from behind, but before he could do so, he collided into the wall of a blue crystalline prism that had trapped him and the other heroes from the castle town. He saw a similar prism had now encapsulated the monkeys, children, and Captain Falcon farther down.

Ganondorf laughed. "There will be no interferences this time. Just the two of us against the two of you."

"Have it a-your way," Luigi said.

Done talking, Bowser and Ganondorf came at them like a team of unruly yet very vindictive oxen. Concerned about the unrelenting momentum heading their way, Luigi and Young Link also realized they were backed up to the smoldering ship. There was only one thing for it. They each jumped backwards and took their stand on the slanted bow and stern.

Young Link caught Ganondorf with a bomb full in the face, knocking him back but not enough to dislodge him from the shipwreck. He parried as the Gerudo King kicked out and lunged with his fist, purple magic shimmering angrily around his limbs. The boy made occasional jabs with his rather short sword, then jumped back before Ganondorf could retaliate.

On the opposite end of the deck, Luigi had to make similar use of his agility to dodge the Koopa King's vicious swipes. He did all he could to try to get behind and reach his tail, but Bowser still had his most recent loss to Mario fresh in his mind, and he pivoted too quickly to leave his tail vulnerable. At one point, Luigi managed to bounce over—and on—Bowser's head and landed within reaching distance of the tail, but instead his opponent took the opportunity to bash Luigi's entire body with his brutal, spiky shell.

Young Link was holding his own but making little progress against Ganondorf. Once more, he spotted Luigi's collapse and Bowser raising his claw to go in for the kill. He quickly drew out his grappling hook, tossed it over one of the mast's crossbeams, and swung across the collapsed center of the deck to hit Bowser with a sideways stroke.

As Bowser toppled beneath Young Link's sword, Luigi decided to switch things up as well. He jumped toward the mast and used it to swing a few times like a trapeze performer, then catapulted himself into Ganondorf's stomach.

Roles were reversed, but the battle continued. Luigi almost caught Ganondorf with a ground-sweeping kick but instead took a foot to the face. He looked up to see the glint of Ganondorf's jagged broadsword and knew he had seconds to save himself. The blade came down at his throat, but it was stopped by the thick head of Luigi's hammer. Ganondorf kept pushing, inching both weapons toward the plumber's neck. Luigi supposed it didn't matter whether the mallet or the sword came first; it was the difference between have his throat slit or crushed. Equally fatal, and though he preferred not to find out, possibly just as painful.

Just when he was about to be smothered by his own hammer, Luigi rolled to the side and propelled himself to his feet using the hammer as leverage. He brought his hammer down while Ganondorf brought his sword up, and the duel commenced.

Bowser tried something new: That is, he spun inside his shell while blowing a stream of flames, creating a makeshift Fire Spin that would have made Charizard proud. Young Link yelled as the fire scorched his skin. He was forced to retreat, hopping upon the crossbeams of the mast and climbing up the ragged canvas sail until he stood atop the crow's nest. There was no way he was getting anywhere near that fire demon; luckily, because of his aptitude for carnival games, he didn't have to.

The Bombchu was shaped like a blue-and-gold fox head. It followed whatever surface it was set upon, caring not whether it went up, down, or upside-down. Young Link set it off down the length of the mast. Upon reaching the deck, it leveled out and sped into Bowser's underside like a mouse racing for a block of cheese.

Bowser roared as he flailed into the mast from the explosion, cracking the derelict wood and nearly shaking Young Link out of his roost. At almost the same time, Ganondorf back-flipped down from the upper deck as he evaded a particularly forceful hammer swing. They found themselves back-to-back, glanced at each other, and allowed themselves a devious smile.

Luigi being the more immediate threat, Ganondorf began conjuring a malevolent ball of white electricity. Luigi tensed; if this was what he thought it was, then he seriously regretted slacking on his tennis practices. But it was about to get worse. Once the sphere of crackling energy was a healthy beach ball size, Ganondorf held it out so that Bowser could supplement it with several seconds of his hottest fire from the depths of his inflamed stomach.

"Mama mía…."

The small, pulsing sun came so quickly that Luigi's rigid arms didn't even have the time to respond to his brain's command to deflect it with his hammer. When the energy dissipated, Luigi was buried in the sand in front of the prow, unconscious.

"Yoshi!" The dinosaur pushed angrily against the blue crystal barrier, but to no avail. None could come to Luigi's aid.

"Bwa ha ha!" Bowser crowed. "That was fun. We should do this more often. Speaking of which…." With one mighty shoved, he toppled the mast in its entirety—crow's nest and all—just as Young Link was about to strike from above. He cried out as he bounced off the deck and crumpled at Ganondorf's feet. The man grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air so they could see eye to eye. His hand was so massive that his thumb and index finger touched behind Young Link's scrawny neck without much difficulty.

"I have waited a long time for this moment," he said. "I know not what Master Hand's true designs are, but he certainly delivers on his promises. Our path was led right to you, boy, and now because you took everything that was mine, I'm going to take everything and more from you!"

He was ready to snap Young Link's neck, but felt the boy's throat vibrate and decided to grant him his final courtesy. He loosened his grip just enough for Young Link to talk.

"What last words have you, Hero of Time?"

"I…guess…dooming…one…kingdom…wasn't… enough…for you," he gasped.

Ganondorf laughed, the Triforce of Power glowing brightly on the back of his left hand, the Rainbow Ride ship's burning carcass casting shadows across his face.

"Hyrule was far better off under my rule before you and Zelda tried to reset the clock." He frowned as he thought of something strange. "Come to think of it, I do not understand how both you and your older self came to dwell in this time during the last Smash Tournament. I thought Zelda had sent you back to relive your childhood or some such nonsense. But no matter. If there still be two of you here, I will ensure you both soon reunited."

His fist became shrouded in purple energy. After winding up his lethal Warlock Punch, he brought it forward to finish the job.

His fist was repelled like a super magnet as Young Link's Triforce of Courage blazed just as brightly as its dark brother, and Ganondorf was flung onto his back, almost rolling back into the cracked ship hull. He jumped to his feet furiously and rushed forward to complete the deed—only to find his entire body immobilized, the two golden triangles connected by a yellow beam arching between the archenemies' hands. Young Link's eyes were wide; he was equally immobilized and just as shocked.

"What is this magic?" Ganondorf bellowed, struggling in vain to reach his mark.

"Shall I do the honors?" Bowser said, raising a claw to Young Link's throat. In response, the golden arch projected a beam of light that blasted him off the ship almost on top of Luigi.

An ethereal voice echoed from above, one that both of the shipwreck's remaining occupants recognized.

 _Ganon…you cannot harm Link at the present time. Shall I tell you why?_

"King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule." Ganondorf looked smug. "You are dead. I ran you through myself. What business do you have among the matters of the living?"

 _The bond of the Triforce is a three-way bond. Whenever one of its avatars is imperiled, the remaining two are designed to come to its aid._

"You lie!" Ganondorf spat through gritted teeth. "I have possessed its power for eons and not once have I been hindered in this way."

 _The response is different depending on the particular avatar who is endangered. You have threatened to destroy the avatars of Courage and Wisdom on many an occasion, yes. But in this case, my daughter is not under threat by you. She is in the hands of something even worse. Thus, because of your abrasive history, while you and Link are not compelled to unite, neither can harm each other until Zelda is safe._

"Worse than me?" Now Ganondorf was just plain angry. "I wield the power to level the entire kingdom of Hyrule. Who could possibly be a greater threat to Zelda than I?"

 _You already know the answer to that._

Suddenly, the Gerudo King's eyes widened and he remembered.

 _Wasteland. The flat landscape extending to the horizon was covered in a red dust that gave the initial impression of a failed colony on Mars. The charred remains of skyscrapers dotted the land like a field of black half-finished ladders. The sky glowed a sickly yellow, but no warmth came from it—only cold. The air smelled of ash and rot and death._

 _As each descended out of the Phase Distorter and was rendered speechless, all that could be heard was a soft, eerie wind that ruffled hair and fur like some kind of restless, undead breeze…._

 _I may be able to level Hyrule_ , Ganondorf realized. _But Master Hand will be able to level the Nintendo World._ All of a sudden, everything seemed clear. He was being used like a tool by Master Hand to gather all who posed a threat to his power: himself, Kong, Falcon, Bowser, Link...the tournament participants! That was it. Master Hand was luring them all into his domain like lambs to the slaughter. And he, Ganondorf, had allowed himself to be the fiend's pawn from the moment he'd first met that cloaked figure in the Krystal Koconut.

"So you think your mystical showcase is going to reconcile me with the one who robbed me of my kingdom?"

 _As I said, Ganon…the Triforce cannot force you to cooperate. The will to reason and act lies always in the mind of the avatar. But it can activate its survival instinct when the need presents itself. I should also mention that you will need ALL of the Smashers in order to defeat this enemy. There is no other way._

"Where is Zelda?" Young Link asked. "What happened to her?"

 _That I cannot say, Hero of Time. My spirit has merely been called forth by the Triforce to deliver this message. If you continue on your present course, however, you will find her. But hurry…before it is too late…._

The golden arch of light vanished, and both Triforce wielders regained control over their bodies.

Young Link leaned on the side of the boat, panting and massaging his bruised throat. "So, you still have nothing better to do than try to kill me?"

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes as he stared up into the night sky, which glittered with thousands of tiny stars like a celestial audience awaiting the heroes' and villains' next move.

"Looks like I'll be saving the best for last, kid."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Luigi came to. He quickly backed away from Bowser, who was also stirring. Yoshi came to his side and helped him up, insisting that he take Kirby's place on his back as they prepared to move on.

Having reached an uneasy truce, the group—now 21 strong—had come to terms with each other, shared the essential details of their journey up to this point, and, united in their opposition to Master Hand's conquests, accepted the necessity of entering Fourside City together. The Smashers were, of course, all acquainted with each other, but the rest knew or were known by few and felt like strangers in a strange land.

"Gruh…what's going on?"

Bowser looked like he'd just woken from his winter hibernation (which definitely isn't a thing). He saw Ganondorf standing a bit away from the rest with his arms crossed, but with no violence in his eyes. He saw Luigi and Yoshi staring warily at him, prepared for another lash-out.

"Hur…I got you pretty good, didn't I, Luigi?"

To Luigi's surprise, Bowser walked right past him and looked out at the nearby skyscrapers looming on the desert horizon. They were almost completely blanketed in darkness save for the multitude of windows and vehicles lighting the city like a swarm of fireflies.

Captain Falcon, who had already proved on multiple occasions to be somewhat of a diplomat, briefly informed Bowser of the plan to combine forces against Master Hand at the hotel. Unlike Ganondorf, the Koopa King's attitude toward aligning with old enemies was quite flexible.

"I've had my fun with Green 'Stache," he said to the Captain, although Luigi was fairly certain that he ensured his voice projected far enough to reach his ears. "Mario's the one who I really owe a good beating. Besides, I can pummel those plumbers anytime I want. To teach Master Hand a lesson is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Meanwhile, Young Link stood alone, gazing at the city and thinking about what had just happened. _I though the Great Deku Tree foresaw me rescuing Princess Nyna._ He blinked back tears as the painful memory of Navi's loss came to surface. _But that wasn't it at all. The Triforce of Courage saved us tonight from Ganondorf's wrath. And now he and Bowser are—at least for now—on our side. Could it be that the one I was meant to help in a way no one else could was…_ He gave an involuntary shudder that had nothing to do with the cool air. _…Ganondorf?_

All major quarrels aside and being at least loosely unified in their purpose, they set off across the last mile or two of desert. Even with the countless electric dots of light ahead, the night made it impossible to get a good idea of the scope of the city. They might as well have been entering an underground cavern with a few matches to light the way. Plus a panorama of crystal stars shining overhead.

Before Captain Falcon knew it, he had led them across a hard-lined border that signaled the Akaneian desert's end and the megalopolis's beginning. Instead of sand, he found himself treading on a paved street with urban structures of increasing size stretching across his view. No vehicles seemed to venture this far out from the heart of town—that is, except for a single conspicuous yellow bus parked on the curb ahead. As he approached, he raised an eyebrow at the rather childish designs cluttering the vehicle's sides: cartoonish drawings of paper airplanes and sketches of people with bizarre technology. A huge title stretched across it, reading "WarioWare, Inc." Most curious of all, the front of the bus, which was facing them, featured what could only be a jagged black mustache. The vehicle's interior was lit with a spiky-haired driver at the wheel.

"Hold it," Captain Falcon said, holding a hand out to stop everyone behind him.

But he didn't have to do anything, for without warning, the bus driver had sped out of the open door of the bus like The Flash and stood in front of them. He appeared to be a blue cartoonish hedgehog (which accounted for the spiky hair), wearing white gloves and red running shoes. Falcon got the impression from the bouncing stranger that he had enough energy to power a house just by running on a treadmill.

He smiled congenially and extended a hand to Captain Falcon. "Name's Sonic. You guys must be the Smashers Impa's expecting."

Falcon took the offered hand, grinning. "That's us."

"Well, you're in luck. I've been sitting here in this official tournament bus waiting just for you. Welcome to Fourside, by the way! The Smash Brothers are so excited to meet you all. Hop on in!"

Normally the Captain would have been more wary of climbing into vehicles with strangers, but in this case, for some reason he just felt like he could naturally trust Sonic. The guy seemed so genuine.

Once the WarioWare bus was full, Sonic turned it around and drove rather recklessly into the city. Those less accustomed to city life held on to their seats and took in the flash of colors and lights until, just a quarter of an hour later, they arrived at the Grande Snifit Hotel.

"That's weird," Sonic said as they walked through the revolving doors into the empty lobby, the sleeping Koopa clerk evidently dreaming of a world he didn't care to leave. "Impa told me they'd be here before us…."

Literally five minutes later, after Sonic tried fruitlessly to call Impa on his communicator, a second (but much smaller) wave of Smash Brothers came through the doors.

"You won't get ahold of her with that, lad." Professor E. Gadd, followed by Roy, Fox, and Samus, joined Sonic near the front desk. "I should know; I designed it. And mine hasn't been able to trace Impa for over an hour."

"No way," Roy breathed. "It can't be. Link!" He rushed over to Young Link and gave him a hug—followed by a boyish shove. "I can't believe you ditched us like that, you sneaky Hylian."

For the first time since Navi's death, Young Link felt something like happiness at the sight of his friend. "I can't believe you're such a heavy sleeper. I could've paraded through Gadd's lab on a Dodongo and you wouldn't have woken up."

"Mario?" Sonic grinned as he ran up to the plumber. "Finally! I've heard so much about you! I thought you'd be, uh….more red."

"I'm a-Luigi," Luigi said.

"Oh. Well, good to meet you, too!" The hedgehog moved on to greet the Kongs, leaving Luigi feeling no more disregarded than normal.

"Fox!" Slippy and Peppy said simultaneously as they each rushed forward and gave him a hug.

"It's good to see you guys," Fox said with a laugh.

"Why haven't you been responding to any of our messages, son?" Peppy fixed the pilot with a stern look. "It's been weeks, and all of us back on Corneria have been worried sick."

"Yeah…my Arwing kind of blew up, along with my communicator. It's a long story."

Kirby wandered up to his fellow puffball, whom he hadn't seen until now because she and Pichu had been in their Pokéballs.

"Hi!" he said.

"Puff!" Jigglypuff said, blushing.

Captain Falcon, meanwhile, found himself drawn to his fellow bounty hunter, although they had seldom—if ever—spoken to one another. Come to think of it, the only time he'd ever seen Samus was on the field of battle a couple times (he recalled that they tended to be pretty evenly matched). And because of that, he found himself at an unusual loss for words.

"So, uh…nice suit."

Samus didn't respond; she just stared at him as if he'd just emitted an extremely antisocial noise in public.

"A guy like you must be really successful in the business, yeah?"

He would long regret what he had just said.

In response, Samus removed her helmet and brushed her blond ponytail over her shoulder. Her expression remained unreadable.

"I gather you're not used to being outmatched by a woman, but please…try not to embarrass yourself."

She stalked away to acquaint herself with Peasley and Mr. Game & Watch, bumping past Captain Falcon's shoulder as if he were an intrusive bush.

After thirty minutes, the rest of the Smash Brothers still hadn't arrived. Gadd was worried, but he took the opportunity to bring everyone up to date on the plan. He stood on top of the reception desk (behind which the Koopa slumbered on) and cleared his throat, commanding the general respect of most of the rest despite his height and goofy, elderly appearance.

"The Fourside Tournament opens tomorrow night," he said. "Impa wants as many of the Original 25 who can to enter so we can find out just how strong Master Hand's influence in the city has become. Assuming the tournament proceeds normally, we'll then round up the rest of the missing Smashers and plan our attack on Master Hand's Room. However, should anything go wrong—"

And that was the opportune moment for two additional "Smash Brothers" to burst through the doors.

"Bad a-news," Wario bellowed across the lobby, although his bloated, satisfied expression and cheerful waddle did not seem to suggest that he was currently feeling bad about anything. Behind him, Waluigi's gangly figure ambled awkwardly into the room, his face the very likeness of Wario's except bony and stretched up and down like a lump of sickly pizza dough.

"Yeah," Waluigi contributed.

"The Smash a-Brothers aren't a-coming here yet. They had some… _set-a-backs_ , so we're a-here to pick you up!"

Luigi had a bad feeling about seeing these two, but he was too consumed by his brooding self-pity to dwell on the thought. He followed the rest of them back to the bus. After they'd all boarded, they followed Wario and Waluigi's luxurious plum convertible deeper into the city. Yoshi, sitting next to him, tried to cheer him up with an apple he'd saved from the Donut Plains, which was marginally successful.

Eventually, they pulled into the underground parking lot of an enormous golden building that stretched above them at least 20 stories and sported a purple "W" on the front. Wario Tower.

They disembarked and climbed some cement stairs into the lobby.

Luigi was amazed. The hotel was the diametric opposite of the Grande Snifit Hotel in almost every way. Every surface looked like it was made of gold. Posh carpets and velvet sofas complemented several glittering silver chandeliers. Had any of them visited the Pianta Parlor Casino, they would have found the two quite comparable.

But the unusual thing about this place was its unconventional clientele. Concierges in tasseled red uniforms (mostly Toads and Waddle Dees) attended to the guests' various needs, whether that be carrying luggage or serving drinks or providing information. Instead of the rich tourists and important-looking businessmen one might expect in a high-class establishment such as this, a very colorful variety of patrons occupied the room. It seemed that even at this late hour, Wario Tower was very busy in anticipation of the Fourside Tournament that would begin the next day.

In one corner, four multicolored Koopas with bandana masks sat on the luxurious couches. Elsewhere, a dark-skinned woman with red hair leaned against a wall. Ganondorf instantly recognized her as the Gerudo Nabooru, one of the six Sages who had contributed to his downfall. A strange orange ball with eyes, spaghetti limbs, a baseball cap, and roller-skates was busy painting a starry indigo sphere which Kirby recognized as one of the forms of his old nemesis, Nightmare. One of the Burglar Pokémon Trainers (with a full beard and a conspicuous burlap sack) crept up behind a figure who wore a high-tech midnight blue suit with a lime green streak running down the center of the head. Samus watched in amusement as one of her rival bounty hunters, Sylux, swiped the thief face-first onto the ground without even looking behind it (Sylux's gender and species was indeterminate). In another corner, a young man—who resembled Marth except he was much bulkier, wielded a huge broadsword, and had a red scarf to complement his cape—conversed with an even younger man with dark hair and green punching gloves. It was all too much to take in at once.

With the large group of newcomers, many in the lobby stopped what they were doing to stare at the newest batch of competition. To Roy and Captain Falcon's shock, two familiar faces they never thought they'd see again sauntered up to them. One was the F-Zero racer with the turtle face who had given Roy a less-than-friendly gesture before the race; the other was a heavy-set, muscular man sporting a helmet with a Japanese sunburst, tiny round sunglasses, and a brown leather jacket over a white T-shirt that was ribbed over the man's chiseled abs.

"Samurai Goroh," Falcon said, not bothering to pretend to be pleased to see him. "Roy here tells me you and your gang had a nasty fall over Big Blue. How's the water?"

"You just wait, Falcon," the big man growled. "I'm gonna smack that smirk right off your face in front of thousands of people."

Turtle-Face leaned over and leered at Roy. "I was hoping to teach you a lesson on the track, boy. It seems you were so slow that you never even got to inhale my dust. But perhaps we'll have some quality time together tomorrow, no?"

"Chill out, Pico," Falcon said. "There's a ton of people

in this tournament. Chances are we'll never see each other."

Goroh snickered. "Yeah, when you and pretty boy are knocked off in the first round." He and Pico strolled away, evidently convinced that they had successfully intimidated the Smashers.

Shoving aside an unfortunate concierge, a fat bipedal crocodile with a regal crown and red cape lumbered up to the Kongs. He fixed DK and the others with his bulging bloodshot eye that was at least as twice as big as the other.

"It's been too long, Kongs," boomed King K. Rool, the Kongs' longtime nemesis. "And I owe you a reunion after you sunk my ship…just because I borrowed a few of your precious Golden Bananas."

"Dude, you were gonna sink DK Isle." Tiny's sass knew no bounds.

K. Rool snorted. "Very well, then. See you in the ring."

A trio of anthropomorphic pilots, meanwhile, approached the members of Team Star Fox. Though they wore classy jumpsuits and walked with an air of menace, what set Team Star Wolf apart was that it was composed of a panther, a chameleon, and, of course, Wolf O'Donnell himself.

"Fox. Fancy seeing you here." Wolf sneered with his posse of Leon Powalski and Panther Caruso behind him. "I thought you were attending some glorified medieval banquet in Hyrule."

"We're not just here for the tournament, Wolf." As much as Fox and Wolf tended to butt heads, Fox couldn't help but have a grudging respect for the guy, and he felt that he couldn't let anyone he knew walk unknowingly into danger. Not even his rival. "Watch your back out there. We think Master Hand's up to something and we're entering this tournament to find out what it is."

"Master who?" Wolf looked puzzled. "Whatever. It's you who needs to watch your furry hide." He grinned, revealing razor-sharp canine teeth. "And pray you fail early so you don't have to be humiliated by me."

"This a-way," Wario barked over the din. He led the Smashers and their companions to a sparkling jade reception desk, where they were to line up and sign their names on a form which served the twofold purpose of registering each for the tournament and waiving WarioWare's liability for any and all potential injuries or death. Luigi gulped as he read this part of the fine print—only to be shoved aside by Bowser so he could scrawl his name down.

After all 24 had signed up (Wario, Waluigi, Peppy, and E. Gadd excluded, and Pichu and Jigglypuff falling under Red's name), a band of concierges led small clusters of them to their rooms according to their preferences: Luigi, E. Gadd, and Yoshi; Peasley and Game & Watch; Young Link, Roy, and Red; Jeff, Poo, and Kirby; Fox, Peppy, and Slippy; Captain Falcon, Popo, and Sonic (Falcon had considered requesting to room with Samus, but thought better of it); Paula, Samus, and Tiny; DK and Diddy; Lanky and Chunky; and Bowser and Ganondorf, who no one else wanted to go near.

Wario and Waluigi wandered off to attend to other business as the rest were ushered to what would be their quarters for the duration of the tournament. Surprisingly, WarioWare generously provided space even for friends who weren't enrolled, and they were told that those who were eliminated would still be allowed to stay to watch the rest—after their injuries had been attended to, of course.

Luigi forgot his fears when he stepped into the most luxurious suite he'd ever seen. Like the lobby, every surface, handle, faucet, bedknob, windowsill, and nightstand was made of some kind of precious stone. The silky bed covers with complimentary chocolates and the classy curtains and the cloud-like pillows and the spectacular view of Fourside's night life…it seemed too good to be true.

And, in a sense, it was.

* * *

The next morning, almost everyone slept in. This was understandable considering what they had all been through the last week or so: castle sieges, dragon battles, haunted mansions, death-defying races, deadly gales, Pokémon battles, alien attacks, and falling out of the sky on a burning ship—just to name a few.

Their competitors' "schedule"—or lack thereof—seemed appropriately indolent in light of the hotel's obese owner. They filtered down at various times of the morning and early afternoon to delight in elaborate arrays of food, which satisfied all save for the jealous Chef Kawasaki. Almost any delicacy anyone could imagine—from any kingdom—could be found or requested.

Some preferred to stay inside until they were called upon to report to Fourside Colosseum that evening. Others spent the day downstairs in the gym to train for the first round of matches. Still others indulged themselves in complimentary tours of the city, visiting such icons as the Fourside Department Store, the Smash Hall of Fame, and Pianta Parlor. Some were more apprehensive about the coming events than others, but all at least wondered what was in store for them, and whether they were finally going to discover who—or what—Master Hand really was, and what he wanted.

Dinner was just as exquisite as breakfast. Most of the competitors ate back at Wario Tower in a lavish dining hall, although etiquette was not stressed and the only time the security Krushas (beefed-up blue Kremlings with savage head spikes) got involved was when actual fights would occasionally break out. For example, when Kamek (one of Bowser's Koopa henchmen who wore a blue robe and magician's cap) began sending bursts of geometric magic at a Wizzrobe (a toucan-like creature from Hyrule with a red robe and Aztec headdress), both had to be detained until they had calmed down enough to rejoin the feast.

Luigi kept his head bent over his plate, trying to avoid any unfriendly confrontations with his unruly colleagues. He sighed with pleasure; the Super Mushroom Soup he was tucking into tasted especially divine.

Then the unthinkable happened. From the far end of one of the long tables, a vacuum of air dragged all the tables' contents in their entirety—including dishes and silverware—and sucked every last crumb of food into Kirby's gaping mouth like a shipwreck into a maelstrom.

One of the competitors—an enemy of Kirby's who resembled a floating burnt orange head with cute features—reacted to the vacuum by transforming into its horrifying cyclopean form and sped toward the Star Warrior, gnashing its sharp, ravenous teeth. Kirby's eyes widened in fright until a Krusha's fist intercepted the monster, smashing it into the wall and out of commission.

A brief, fuming silence prevailed over the crowd. Kirby burped and wiggled his arm stubs happily.

"Poyo!"

Things might have gotten nasty had not Wario and Waluigi stepped into the room and turned on a wall-sized screen with a clicker.

"It's a-pleasure to have you a-here," Wario hollered—with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Yeah," Waluigi said.

"Now for a video from our a-sponsors, and then the grand opening of a-Fourside Colosseum will a-begin!"

Several loud cheers echoed throughout the room (among the loudest being the enormous Goomba King and a pig-like Moblin with a spear and gaudy nose ring), although many of the fighters were quiet and collected as they watched the presentation. The lights dimmed, and for some ten minutes, they watched ad after ad promoting miscellaneous WarioWare technology and services in flashes of bright color and obnoxious voices.

Luigi himself had almost dozed off when suddenly, Master Hand's unnatural form filled the screen against a black background. Luigi, along with all the other Smashers, perked up immediately.

But to his disappointment, the voice that blared out of the speakers was clearly the congested rasp of Wario. Master Hand was only a still image.

"Good a-luck to everyone! Now, I'm a-gonna tell you the prizes for the winners. Each a-finalist will get 1,000 Coins."

Again, some cheering, although the way Wario said it sounded like he was offering a child a lucky penny rather than a substantial sum of money.

"And the champion…" He gave a dramatic pause, although it felt very forced. "…will be a-given a powerful weapon; a weapon that a-can defeat even the mighty Master Hand!"

The subsequent eruption of noise was the loudest yet. K. Rool pounded his reptilian fists on the table with uncontained adrenaline, while Samurai Goroh accidentally punched Pico off the bench with what was intended as a harmless display of masculinity. Luigi, though not the type to show his excitement, could not help but allow his suspicion to be overrun by the prospect of such power. He imagined himself firing some kind of giant missile launcher and blowing the supervillain to oblivion. And smiled.

* * *

Fourside Colosseum was an architectural marvel. It was shaped like a Pez candy the size of a neighborhood. The concrete wall around the central playing field stood some 50 feet high, and an enclosed ring of curving passages and rooms ran around the border and even underneath the battleground itself. It was shiny and new and sensational…and, for many, intimidating.

The fighters were bussed in five minutes to the venue of what would surely be a momentous night. They parked next to one of the wide sides of the massive oblong structure, then filed out and proceeded into a steel Krusha-guarded door.

The long curving hallway inside stretched all the way around the colosseum's perimeter. In contrast to the grandeur of Wario Tower, this passageway was wrought out of dull gray cement. Wario and Waluigi led the pack, and as they went on, Krusha guards indicated for certain groups to split off into a number of waiting rooms, which were grouped based on the hotel's roommates.

For many, a long, intense wait followed while the Wario brothers ascended to oversee the tournament's commencement.

Kirby, beside Jeff and Poo in his modestly comfortable room with basic furnishings of couches, desks, and cots, blinked as he heard the muffled noise of thousands of shouts and a blaring voice he didn't recognize penetrated the thick walls.

But after only ten minutes, a Krusha opened the door and beckoned for Kirby to follow.

"Good luck," Jeff and Poo said as he was led by the muscular crocodile to an iron gate. The crowd seemed to be growing louder, and Kirby shivered from the cool, unconditioned air.

The Krusha said nothing as five stressful minutes passed by. Then, at last, the gate creaked open of its own volition, and the Krusha ushered him forward with a grunt out into the stadium beyond.

An open night sky with a lone half moon spectating from above. A huge flat arena made of clay that stretched before him at least the length of a football field. Dozens of tiered bleachers seating thousands of roaring fans of every shape and size. Some bore banners cheering on their favorite fighter; others were even dressed like them. Clusters of humans and Toads and Kremlings and Beanish and Polar Bears and Hylians and space travelers and every other kind of Nintendonian filled the stands with almost no extra seats. Blinding floodlights encircling the edges lit the stadium like a Justin Bieber concert. Walls with giant screens and suspended cameras would ensure thorough coverage of the battles' every detail.

And to Kirby's right, a box with a podium hung over the top of the bleachers, upon which Wario and Waluigi stood at each side of the microphone. Behind the podium itself was, as far as Kirby could make out, some kind of stout bird-man with sunglasses, a large beak, a mane of yellow hair, and a glittering topaz belt. He looked like he belonged to a biker gang.

"Are you ready to RAAAAAAWWWK?!" The raspy rock-singer voice echoed throughout the colosseum, titillating the audience into a mania of excitement that ebbed and flowed like the crashing of a tsunami.

. "It's me, Rawk Hawk, reigning champion of the Glitz Pit! All you Chain-Chumps are in for the real deal. Course, anything you've heard about me losing to that Gonzalez or Mario or whatever he's called—it's all a buncha Paratroopa droppings; I never lose, and if I were in this tournament, I'd sweep the competition like dirt into the—"

Wario elbowed the Rogueport native, reminding him to stay on topic.

Rawk Hawk cleared his throat. "Er…anyway, as I was saying, tonight's Round'll separate the possible winners from the definite wieners. For our first match, we have the Turtles of Turbulence; the Ninjas of Notoriety; the too-cool-to-be-fooled…Koopa Bros!"

Kirby watched as from the iron gate on the opposite side, the four Koopas—wearing red, black, yellow, and green bandana masks to match their shells—spun onto the arena, popping out of their shells with their thumbs up. The crowd erupted with uncontained energy.

"Versus…the Puffball of Power; the Unstoppable Star Warrior; the maelstrom-mouthed…Kirby of Dreamland!"

Kirby stepped hesitantly into the light with a dazed expression. The roaring audience and expansive colosseum made him feel smaller than he'd ever felt.

The tournament had begun.


	13. Chapter 10: Settling Scores

Chapter 10: Settling Scores

* * *

 _ **R**_ **ound I, Match I: Kirby VS. The Koopa Bros**

"C'mon, Bros, let's pummel this pillow!"

The four ninja turtles formed a line of spinning shells that rocketed toward their lone opponent with astounding unity.

They were too fast. Kirby gasped as he was sent careening into the wall of the arena (which was covered with brightly colored WarioWare ads, this particular spot displaying a special kind of parachute made for the grossly obese), Rawk Hawk shouting and screaming things that were muffled by the crowd cheering and booing the whole time.

"Looks like we've got an easy out," Red said, fist-bumping his companions. "Let's finish this chump!"

Simultaneously, they all leapt toward Kirby with airborne punches or kicks. Kirby looked down for the count.

But at the last moment, his eyes shot open accompanied by a mischievous smile and he opened his mouth to received all four Koopa Bros. For some reason, their shells were indigestible (at least, that was what Yoshi had once told him), so he spit them back out into a crumpled heap.

"Kir-by! Kir-by! Kir-by!" The audience appeared to have chosen its favorite.

Red shook his head to reorient himself. "So that's how you wanna play, huh? Let's see you suck up this: Koopa Bros, time for our Special Attack!"

The Koopas retreated into their shells and jumped on top of each other to form a whirling tower, which whipped up the air like a small hurricane. It shot the other direction to pick up momentum, then circled back around to go in for the KO.

Kirby swung his hammer and removed Green from the bottom of the stack with an unpleasant crack; while Green collapsed and his shell shattered, however, the other three maintained their tower formation, bounced off the wall, and came back for revenge.

Kirby responded by mallet-whacking Yellow, and on the next go, Black. Red, however, was not be deterred. The leader took advantage of all the energy and speed that they had picked up and went in for one final strike.

Kirby bounced into the air, transformed into a Thwomp (a spiky stone block with an angry face), and met Red below with a painful crunch.

He reverted to his regular pink self and waved to the audience on top of the Koopa, whose eyes were swirling with dizziness.

"Hi!"

* * *

 **Round I, Match II: Donkey Kong VS. King K. Rool**

"At last," K. Rool growled, he and the Kong circling each other. "You have none of your monkey friends to help you this time."

"Good." DK suddenly drew out his Coconut Gun and shot at the crocodile several times, one coconut smashing into his face. "That means you'll have no excuses when I kick your tail…again."

K. Rool snarled with rekindled rage and brought up his red punching gloves to deflect the barrage of coconuts. He stomped forward, swiping aside each fruit and uppercutting DK in the stomach.

DK took several more punches to the head and torso before he finally managed to bring his massive hands together around one of the gloves mid-punch. He brought his head forward and bonked K. Rool in the noggin, causing the enemy to stumble backwards.

The Kong took advantage of this opportunity. He somersaulted into the beast's belly, sending him back further, then followed up by sliding across the clay and kicking him in the throat. K. Rool toppled backwards with a crash.

Satisfied, DK placed a foot on the downed reptile's chest and shook both hands in the air victoriously.

He couldn't possibly have expected what K. Rool had reserved for him. Without warning, an exploding orange was lobbed from the ground into DK's face, blasting him away.

K. Rool gave a deep laugh and brought both gloves down onto the Kong, banging his fists like a child having a temper tantrum.

As the rules of the tournament strictly forbade killing, a loud buzzer sounded and several Krushas entered the arena to break K. Rool away from the pulverized primate. DK was rushed by a pair of burly Machokes (humanoid Pokémon with blue skin, lizard-like heads, and wrestling shorts) to the infirmary.

* * *

 **Round I, Match III: Yoshi VS. Metal Yoshi**

Yoshi had been dreading the moment when he would meet his malicious doppelganger. The figure stared back at him so coldly, so emotionlessly, so mercilessly.

The two dinosaurs encased themselves in eggs and began rolling after each other. After a while, Metal Yoshi jerked backwards and blindsided Yoshi, shattering his egg and slamming him a good 20 feet through the air.

The metal egg wasted no time in making a beeline for Yoshi yet again, but as their paths were about to cross, Yoshi drew it into his mouth with his tongue. He swished it around inside (unable to chew), then spat it into the air, leapt up to meet it, and struck downward with his head, plunging it back to the earth.

Metal Yoshi arose as if nothing had happened and chucked a metal egg at the descending duplicate. He followed through with several more iron projectiles before allowing Yoshi to collapse before it.

Yoshi made to get back up, but the last thing he saw was a metal tail headed for his face.

* * *

 **Round I, Match IV: Tiny Kong VS. The Goomba King**

"Come and get me, you big bully," Tiny taunted, giggling.

The coronated Goomba obliged, rushing at the Kong with cross-eyed fury. Tiny slid between his feet, spun around, and performed a sort of reverse bicycle kick, flipping the Goomba onto its head.

She went in to whack him with her blond ponytails, but the inverted king broke into some kind of breakdance and knocked her back with his wiggling feet like a top, using the momentum to right himself.

The Goomba King pressed his advantage and bounded into the air, turning midway so that he would fall headfirst on top of Tiny with his hulking fungal weight.

Tiny rolled out of the way at the last second, allowing the Goomba to cause more damage to himself than he might have done to her by embedding his head in the malleable clay surface, this time as stuck as a wedge in a tree.

She pounced on top of the Goomba and performed a 360-degree Ground Pound, ending the match with a whoop.

* * *

 **Round I, Match VI: Slippy Toad VS. Mr. Game & Watch**

Mr. Game & Watch wasn't expecting much from his Cornerian opponent. After all, Slippy was known for his mechanical genius—not for physical prowess.

"Alrighty," Slippy said. "Here goes nothing!"

The toad drew his stun blaster and began firing consistent shots of thick green energy. Game & Watch ducked under one, collected a couple in his bucket, and cartwheeled through the air to dodge the rest. Not wanting to cause his friend serious harm, he satisfied himself with swinging a black chair into Slippy's side.

Slippy rolled onto the ground, appearing defeated. But after a moment, he bounced high into the air—so high, in fact, as to double the jumping abilities of either Fox and Falco. He brought a wrench down behind the shocked Game & Watch's head and spun around with a grin.

"Though I'd be easy pickings, huh?"

G.W. considered for a moment. "Yes, ac-tu-al-ly."

The two-dimensional Smasher cartwheeled again through the air, arcing over the pilot's head. This time he narrowly dodging Slippy's wrench and blasted him with the pressurized contents of his fire extinguisher midflight. He landed, rattled a black platform beneath the Star Fox pilot, and ejected the contents of his bucket while Slippy was being knocked off his feet.

"Gah!"

Slippy crashed to the ground and groaned, unable to rise.

"Ha…ok, G.W…you win…."

* * *

 **Round I, Match VII: Paula VS. Youngster**

"Go, Rattata! Go, Pidgeotto!"

Youngster's two Pokémon materialized onto the field, one being a large purple rat, the other being a cream-colored pigeon the size of a large swan with red and yellow head and tail feathers. They were poised for battle and appeared fiercely loyal to their trainer.

But Paula was ready for them.

"PK Fire!"

Her signature move spewed forth, blocking Rattata's Quick Attack. Meanwhile, Pidgeotto flew over the small wall of flames, but she was ready for that, too. She swatted the bird with her frying pan, although as the Pokémon fell, it managed to scratch her arm with its claws before it fainted.

While Paula cringed in pain, Rattata circumvented the fire and Tackled her to the ground, knocking the frying pan out of her hands and crawling on top of her, its whiskered nose twitching with excitement.

"All right!" The boy dressed in street clothes punched the air with his fist. "Now, Rattata, let's finish this….Hyper Fang!"

Paula heard the command with horror and knew she had to act fast. Just as the rat's fangs were inches from her neck, she cast a Paralysis spell like she had on Ganondorf. The girl pushed the Pokémon off her chest and fumbled along the ground until she found her frying pan. She brought it down unceremoniously on what was, in her opinion, a disgusting creature, knocking it out cold.

* * *

 **Round I, Match IX: Samus VS. Gandrayda**

"It's been a while, Gandrayda," Samus said, cautiously approaching the bounty hunter.

Gandrayda rather resembled a Wire Frame in many ways, except her body was mixed with both blue and magenta hues, and her pink head had an actual human face with a pointed top. She emanated some sort of radioactive glow.

"It's good to see you, Sammy." She smiled wanly. "This should be fun."

Suddenly, she threw a cluster of throwing blades above her head. They stopped in midair, directed themselves toward Samus, and shot toward her almost as if they were alive.

Samus transformed into her Morph Ball and rolled to the side, snaking and hopping to dodge each of the homing weapons. She did a loop that caused the last blade to crash into the ground, then sped into Gandrayda's torso, knocking her down.

The luminescent bounty hunter produced a shock wave that propelled the Morph Ball away from her, then followed up with an orb of white electricity, which Samus just barely avoided by swerving to the right. Samus uncurled from her Morph Ball and stood facing Gandrayda, already out of breath.

"You've become powerful," she said. It was meant as a compliment, but unfortunately, Gandrayda took it as a challenge.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

Gandrayda's body started to shimmer as she shape-shifted into something else: A floating, jellyfish-like creature with what looked like red brains inside its membrane and nasty fangs at the bottom.

A Metroid.

Taken aback but still confident, Samus unleashed several heat-seeking missiles at her old enemy. But the Metroid hovered casually around the missiles and quickly latched itself onto her suit before she could do anything.

She cried out in pain as the parasitic alien began draining her life force. After several excruciating seconds, she finally managed to sever its hold by hitting it with a small, point-blank blast from her Phazon cannon.

The creature warbled unpleasantly as it retreated. It shimmered and morphed again—this time into a much larger creature. It resembled an enormous pterodactyl with savage scarlet eyes, scaly purple skin, and a lethal arrow-pointed tail. Ridley. The creature who had left Samus an orphan all those years ago.

At this point, Samus was sweating and she completely forgot who she was fighting, filled with hatred toward the vile beast. As Ridley dived toward her, talons extended, she blasted it with several consecutive machine-gun shots.

Ridley screeched and tore away, then doubled back and descended to ground level, gaining speed with every second. Its razor-edged teeth seemed to hunger for Samus's blood.

But the distance Ridley used to build up speed and momentum came at a price. It gave Samus precious time to charge her arm cannon, and she engulfed the approaching nemesis with a wide jet of blue energy. Ridley became a silhouette amidst the bright beam and, upon fading away, the blast revealed Gandrayda's unconscious figure.

* * *

 **Round I, Match X: Samurai Goroh VS. Captain Falcon**

"You ready for the beating of a lifetime, Falcon?"

Captain Falcon, not one to mince words with the likes of Goroh, did not grace him with a reply. Instead, he charged at the bulky bandit and executed his signature Falcon Kick, the force of the move causing his feet to actually catch fire as he slid across the ground.

Goroh, surprisingly agile for his size, dodged the kick and brought his fist into Falcon's chest as the Smasher sped by, driving the wind from his stomach. He followed up with several more jabs and a roundhouse kick, knocking Falcon flat.

But Falcon was far from finished. He swung his feet into the air, pushed off the ground with his hands, and propelled himself back onto his feet. And then the real fight began.

They contended at close range, man to man, fist to fist. Both parried each other's punches and tried to catch their opponent off guard, but they were too well trained as bounty hunters and former cops. Falcon realized in order to win, he would have to aggravate the man.

"Is that all you got?" he said, panting. "I've seen better fighting from my grandmother."

Easily provoked into rashness, Goroh lashed out just as Falcon had hoped. The Captain swiftly dodged the heavy swipe, nailed him in the solar plexus, and kneed him in the stomach. Goroh doubled over on the ground, clutching his torso.

"Had enough?" Falcon said, not entirely displeased by the roaring favor of the crowd.

"You…wish…Falcon!"

Without warning, Goroh unsheathed his katana and slashed across Captain Falcon's legs. He leapt to his feet and tackled Falcon to the ground, holding him down with his hulking 300 pounds, his katana pressing into the Smasher's throat.

"Give me one good reason not to kill you right now." He chuckled, a rather manic tone in his voice.

"Well, for one, you'd be disqualified."

"Yes…." The katana pressed harder into his throat, drawing blood. "But I'm thinking it'll be worth it…to be rid of you forever."

The buzzer had already sounded, and Krushas were rushing onto the field as the tournament authorities realized what was about to happen. But Goroh ignored all of them.

Captain Falcon's heart began to race as he comprehended that Goroh was actually seriously considering his murder. "You don't want to do this, Goroh."

"No? I really think I do. But first, before you die, I have to know…." He chuckled again, his salty sweat dripping onto his enemy's face. "How does it feel to finally be a loser?"

Despite his dire predicament, Falcon could not contain his passive-aggressiveness. He shrugged.

"I dunno. You tell me."

He kicked Goroh's behind, dislodging the heavyweight, and made the most of the element of surprise. He drew back his fist, the fiery outline of an eagle forming around him.

"Falcon…PUNCH!"

* * *

 **Round I, Match XI: Chef Kawasaki VS. Diddy Kong**

Chef Kawasaki was a large orange Cappy who sported a chef's hat and apron and seemed cheerful even in the midst of a competition—unless that competition involved people judging his cooking, that is.

Diddy Kong approached the resident of Cappy Town without too much concern. This guy didn't look like he'd seen so much as a middle school fistfight. He figured one good kick to the face should do the trick.

Then the chef revealed his secret weapon: a dish of his famous (or rather, infamous) Super Spicy Curry. He held up the dangerous dish for Diddy to see with a congenial expression and spoke in his somewhat clown-like voice.

"Behold the power of my irresistible entrée—my piéce de résistance!" And with that, he dumped the entire plate into his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

Diddy just stared as at first, nothing happened. But then, Kawasaki's orange skin deepened to a Wiggler-worthy red, and tiny fires seemed to ignite in the reflections of his eyes. And he burst into flames.

Diddy had already begun dashing toward Kawasaki, but upon witnessing this sudden alteration of affairs, he speedily switched direction and fired several shots at a distance from his Peanut Popgun.

Kawasaki's ardent yet uninjured body guffawed as the peanuts exploded from the heat before getting anywhere close to him. He galumphed as fast as he could toward the chimpanzee like some cheerful, inebriated demon.

The Kong knew he had to come up with something or else he would end up a charred chimp. He then remembered he had one weapon that could penetrate Kawasaki's fiery barrier. And he used it.

The red-and-yellow electric guitar, given him by Candy Kong once upon a time, was no regular instrument. With each chord he struck, the vibrating music sent out a star-shaped wave that had claimed the lives of many Beavers and Zingers and certainly would not balk before a conflagrant chef.

Not only did the crowd love the stylish music, but the sound waves almost shattered Kawasaki's earlobes, and they produced a severe headache that took him out of the picture within seconds with a voice-cracking sigh.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XII: Jeff VS. Kamek**

With no other real options against a magical flying Koopa, Jeff set off a fleet of well-directed bottle rockets toward Bowser's Number Two. One of them hit its mark, spinning Kamek on his broomstick and almost knocking him off entirely.

But Kamek held on and swiveled back around to face Dr. Andonut's progeny.

"Nice try, kid," he cackled. "But it'll take a lot more than a nerd's science fair project to stop _this_ cruisin' Magikoopa!"

He conjured a yellow washing machine-sized block in the air with his wand and directed it down toward Jeff. The boy just managed to dive out of the way, but as he did so, Kamek sent a rotating trio of magical shapes at the incapacitated child.

The magic seared through Jeff's body; not for the first time, he wished he could use PSI like his friends as he sank to his knees and drifted off.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XIII: Poo VS. Little Mac**

Poo's Eastern training came in handy as he parried the stocky boxer's swift punches. He swept an extended leg under Little Mac, but missed as his opponent jumped over it and smacked downward onto Poo's shoulder.

He shook himself to regain his orientation, his hand on his aching shoulder, but none too soon, for Little Mac wasted no time in coming at him again.

Poo backflipped away in order to give himself some space. As Little Mac dashed forward with his head bent and glove wound back for another strike, Poo conjured a quick PSI Shield to block the arching blow with a wall of translucent light. He Teleported behind the fighter and kicked him hard in the back, sending him sprawling face first.

Little Mac was winded, but his age and intense training gave him the physical advantage over the black belt. He rolled and pushed himself onto his feet while the boy was deep in concentration, preparing to cast a PK Starstorm.

But Poo never had the chance because Little Mac's lithe, muscular figure reached him just before he could unleash the attack. A solid hit to the head decided the battle.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XIV: Wario VS. Popo**

 _Didn't think he'd be taking to the field of his own tournament,_ Popo thought as Wario lumbered toward him with a hearty laugh.

"It's a-go time!"

Mario's avaricious alter ego quickened to a charge with his shoulder aimed toward his quarry. Popo decided nothing he could do against him would result in anything better than a broken hammer or the equivalent of being flattened by a giant snowball, so he bounced well clear of Wario's one-man stampede and they both turned to face each other once more, Wario grinning wider than Popo was comfortable with.

"What's the matter, loser?" Wario pressed a not-so-inconspicuous button on his trousers. An invisible panel flipped open in the arena beside him, raising up a humming six-cylinder motorcycle with a yellow WarioWare decal.

 _Is that fair?_ Popo wasn't very inclined to think so.

Wario lifted first one chunky limb, then the other onto the bike, revved it for good measure, and let it rip. It was times like these that Popo desperately missed having Nana at his side; had she been with him, they could have easily outmaneuvered Wario with their belay line. As it was, he was on his own.

Popo hit a well-aimed Freezy with his hammer as the rider rumbled toward him. The ice chunk's dismal face almost matched Wario's expression when it smacked into his, causing him and the vehicle to veer off rather than into Popo.

The motorbike came at him again. Popo sent another Freezy aloft. This one would surely have knocked Wario off his bike, except this time he raised up on one wheel, the front blocking the Freezy. Popo's eyes widened as the bike wheelied into him before he could do anything else, the vibrating engine filling his vision, its roaring filling his ears, its aura of heat overwhelming his senses before the end came.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XV: Fox McCloud VS. Wolf O'Donnell**

"Admit it, Fox." Wolf and Fox circled each other, the former much less hesitant to give in to his animalistic nature. "You've wanted this."

"If you say so." Fox abruptly drew his blaster and fired a shot at his rival. Wolf, however, pulled out a red reflector just as quickly. The shreds of red light encompassed the wolf like the electron orbitals of an atom model, casting the laser back at Fox.

"Gah!" Fox's shoulder had been singed by the blast.

Wolf wagged a finger even as he bent down on all fours, preparing to strike. "Tsk tsk. Didn't all those missions teach you something about letting your guard down? Heh…your father learned that lesson well enough…."

Fox had had it. He lunged at Wolf feet-first, making to shut up the outlaw's filthy maw. But Wolf had other plans; he nimbly ducked below Fox, latched onto him with his claws, and used his own momentum against him to toss him to the floor. He raised a claw and brought it down—only to scratch the clay, as Fox had rolled to the side and quickly regained control of the situation.

"We should be working together, Wolf," he breathed. "It's just as bad as it was with the Aparoids—only worse. Falcon says they actually ran into some as they were leaving Corneria."

"Of course they did."

In an instant, Wolf had left behind him a mere phantasm of light where his body had just been, and now, due to the attack's nature, his Wolf Flash had brought him directly in front of Fox, whom he grasped by the scruff of the neck. He tossed Fox into the air and fired a purple laser of his own at the spinning body.

If he hadn't known Wolf as well as he did, Fox never would have thought to activate his reflector a split second before it hit. But he knew Wolf. He was cunning. He was quick. He was powerful. But he was also prideful.

Wolf howled as his own shot hit him in the chest, pushing him onto the ground. As he made to get up, he received an unexpected kick to the head, Fox's rotating fall positioning him conveniently behind the wolf. He grimaced. It couldn't be! Fox had planned for his Wolf Flash!

"If you don't believe me now, Wolf," Fox said, "you soon will."

He landed another kick to the Star Wolf leader's head, just enough to get the job done.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XVII: Chunky Kong VS. The Shadow**

Chunky could not help but feel disappointed. He had expected a challenger at least as burly as himself—maybe one of those Krushas or Machokes or even that big guy with the sunglasses—but instead, he was stuck with this little person hidden in a hood and cloak. He yawned, wishing he had eaten more than the 217 bananas he'd stolen from the Kongs' Banana Hoard.

The Shadow was silent. He didn't seem to care that one of the Cappies in the audience was screaming for the Kong to rip his head off. Rather, he approached the gorilla like a thief in the night (except everyone could see him).

Chunky threw a nice Mega Punch that would have broken through a bank vault, but The Shadow leapt above it and came down with a red shoe onto his head, pushing off of it to jump back to the ground.

Chunky wobbled backwards but did not fall. He narrowed his eyes. As childlike as he was, he knew when he was losing a game and needed to try harder to win. So he did what he usually did to solve his problems: He drew out his Pineapple Launcher and fired an onslaught of spiky fruit.

The Shadow did not seem at all fazed by the veritable wall of prickly pineapples. As if this were a commonplace activity for him, he jumped onto each of the pineapple bullets, using them as stepping stones until he drew close enough to land a whirling kick across the Kong's face.

Chunky had no time to react; in fact, he got the odd sensation that his body had suddenly slowed down, while his opponent landed blows all around him as if he were a big stuffed piñata. He wasn't sure if the shimmering redness before his eyes was due to his failing senses or somehow the cause of his sudden languor, but the dizziness and pain were enough for him to willingly give in to his body's call for a sluggish sleep.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XXI: Red VS. Lance**

"Let's keep this rematch to a 2-on-2, eh, Red?"

Lance the Dragon Master, leader of the Kanto Region's Elite Four, was one of the most respected Pokémon Trainers in the world. Even though Red had somehow come out on top on his road to defeat Gary and become the Pokémon League Champion, he still held Lance in very high esteem. And facing him again, he did not feel all that more confident than he did the first time; what if that first battle had just been a fluke?

"You got it," Red said. He adjusted his hat and tossed two Pokéballs onto the field, summoning Charizard and Pichu.

Lance grinned, his spiky red hair and black cape blowing slightly from the light breeze, the design of his classy outfit a mixture of the two colors. Unlike Gary, there was nothing derisive in his demeanor; Red genuinely felt like they could enjoy mutual respect even in the midst of a battle—something he had rarely experienced.

"Interesting choice. I was expecting your Pikachu that you always seem to keep around, but I can adapt. Go, Dratini! Go, Aerodactyl!"

Out of the seasoned trainer's Pokéballs appeared two creatures of similar sizes to Red's own. Aerodactyl was, in essence, a pterodactyl with stone-gray skin and a large, crooked mouth that did not exactly scream mercy. Dratini seemed almost the complete opposite: a small, sky-blue snake with a cute white muzzle, innocent obsidian eyes, and tiny wings sprouting from her head.

The matchups were clear, and the double duel began.

Charizard and Aerodactyl shot into the air, spiraling around each other, each clawing and snapping at the other's neck. Charizard swung his flame-pointed tail and struck his competitor's head, snorting with triumph as the reanimated fossil struggled to stabilize himself.

Pichu attempted to Headbutt Dratini right away, but the serpent slid around him and wrapped herself around the petite Pokémon, squeezing with surprising strength.

"Pichu, use Thunderbolt!" Red called. For all Pokémon, sometimes they heard and heeded their trainers' instructions, but often they were so engaged in the battle that they didn't have any time or spare attention to give heed to the humans' suggestions. In this instance, however, Pichu did exactly as Red commanded.

The Thunderbolt rippled out of the electric mouse and shocked Dratini enough to force it to relinquish its Bind. Pichu ran around the baby dragon and Quick-Attacked it. He gasped as a burst of blue Dragon Breath put a stop to his aggressive movements.

Dratini went in for the KO, but as she did so, a flaming boulder dropped on top of her serpentine body, more than enough to knock her out.

The airborne Pokémon were now busy taking potshots at each other with Fireballs and Rock Slides. It seemed like one of the Ten Plagues of Egypt as small meteors exploded from contact with spheres of fire, raining down upon the arena like Armageddon.

Then the final clash came. Charizard's chest swelled up as he prepared his final attack, Aerodactyl doing the same. Seconds later, two powerful streams—Fire Blast versus Hyper Beam—pushed against each other at the midpoint. They oscillated back and forth, struggling to reach each source's opponent.

The Hyper Beam, by nature one of the strongest of Pokémon attacks, began pushing back, inching its way toward Charizard. All he could do was keep pushing the fire out of his stomach with renewed fervor, but it wasn't looking good. The Hyper Beam was now just a foot away from his mouth….

A small storm cloud formed above Aerodactyl's fixated figure. Pichu's Thunder raged down from the cloud, painfully shattering the dinosaur's concentration. He screeched as he was simultaneously subjected to the Thunder's volts and the Fire Blast which, with no Hyper Beam to oppose it, flared through his body in the shape of a giant asterisk.

Needless to say, Aerodactyl was done after that. Lance Returned his Pokémon with a shocked expression, but it quickly changed to one of admiration as he stepped up to Red and shook his hand.

"Well played, Red. Perhaps we will meet again after this is all over."

Red smiled. "I look forward to it."

After the battle, a half hour delay was needed to clear up the burning rubble and restore the arena back to its original condition.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XXIII: Lanky Kong VS. Luigi**

Luigi bent his knees and prepared for his Green Missile, aimed right at the orangutan. Lanky, on the other hand, was just standing there, ecstatically waving his arms in the air for the crowd, taking no notice of his opponent.

A few seconds later, Luigi shot himself headfirst at a velocity of at least 60 mph. Green fire blazed around him like liquid grass as he sped toward the monkey in suspenders.

At the last second, when the audience was sure that Luigi would be the inevitable victor, Lanky pushed off from the ground with his abnormally long arms and leapt into the air with a congested cheer.

Luigi zoomed directly below the reflexive orangutan and scraped against the hard ground several times before coming to a halt. He lifted his head just in time to see Lanky take out his Grape Shooter and fire several volleyball-sized grapes toward Luigi's sprawled figure.

Luigi hastily got to his feet and tossed green fireballs to counterattack Lanky's barrage of grapes. The crowd gasped and screamed as with each impact the grape exploded and covered Lanky and Luigi in purple grape-flavored goo.

After his ammunition was depleted, Lanky bounded forward into a steady handstand and charged at Luigi. The plumber unleashed one final Green Missile, and the two fighters collided.

The smoke from the Green Missile cleared as Lanky chuckled with delirium, stumbled around in circles, and collapsed to the ground. Luigi was on his knees, panting and coughing and wiping grape remains off his lush mustache.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XXIV: Chet Rippo VS. Bowser**

"You!"

Bowser was livid, but he was also secretly pleased. This short round platypus thing, the schemer who had swindled him out of his Clown Car and sent them off on a wild goose chase across several planets, was now in a position where he could legally beat the living daylight out of him without any thought of consequences. Not that he would have cared for legality had it been otherwise. But this was the perfect opportunity for revenge.

Chet Rippo, whose bill-dominated face didn't seem capable of expression, blinked with what Bowser could only assume was unscrupulous amusement.

"Well met, Mr. Koopa! How was your trip through the Portal? Were you satisfied with my product?"

"You know fetching well I wasn't," Bowser growled. "But that's ok; once I beat the stuffing out of you, we'll call it square."

"My, my, Mr. Koopa. No need to speak so violently. Let's have us a nice friendly scrimmage, shall we?"

"I'll show you friendly!"

Bowser stomped toward the blue dome-like body and brought down his claw in a diagonal slash, relishing the pain he was about to inflict.

It sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. Bowser roared with frustration, for his claws had chiseled against Rippo's body like a piece of chalk on the sidewalk, throbbing with tender agony.

Bowser gripped his claw with his other hand, gritting his teeth. "What kind of trickery is this, Rippo?"

The duck-billed duper lifted his blue coat to reveal rows and rows of scores of Badges—the same variety that he and other vendors often sold to fighters like Mario to power them up. They glittered with gold and silver and countless other colors like bejeweled merit badges.

"Heh…amazing what ten Defense Plus badges can do for you. I'm disappointed, Mr. Koopa; I would have thought you wise enough to realize that with all the thousands of coins I've accumulated through my sales, I've been able to afford a fortune's worth of Badges. And now, when the power to defeat even Master Hand—let alone you and the other Smashers—is up for grabs, my long years of street bargaining will finally pay off!"

Bowser was horrified to the point of immobility as Rippo's pearly eyes twinkled. He drew out an Ultra Hammer—supplemented by at least 15 Power Plus badges and one Hammer Throw badge—and lobbed it into Bowser's stomach, immediately knocking the wind and consciousness out of him.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XXVII: Ganondorf VS. Blade Knight**

Blade Knight, who didn't appear to have any visible face, spun his sword in his hand as he faced the Gerudo King. He was about Meta Knight's size, except he was almost exclusively covered in teal shoulder armor and a helmet with a red protrusion underneath that one might construe to be a nose as well as a red tail that could be interpreted either as hair or as an appendage to the helmet. Despite his size, however, the Star Warrior was not one to be trifled with.

Ganondorf led out with his usual trope of energy balls, but Blade Knight was far too light on his feet to fall victim to them. Ganondorf laughed.

"Very well, little warrior; a swordfight you shall have."

He unsheathed his imposing broadsword and cut an X in the air with one hand almost as easily as if it were a rapier, pointing it at the knight. "Come, then."

Blade Knight rushed forward and plunged his sword toward Ganondorf's chest. His weapon met with the dark metal of his enemy's blade instead, and before he could retreat, Ganondorf grabbed him with his free hand, which spread almost all the way around the small body.

To Blade Knight's credit, he managed to swipe his sword across Ganondorf's wrists, drawing dark blood. But that only angered the man further; purple magic pulsed along his thick arm and into his grip, draining Blade Knight's energy both physically and metaphysically. Ten seconds later, Meta Knight's comrade was out.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XXVIII: Roy VS. Young Link**

 _Clang!_

The two young swordsmen engaged each other ferociously, perhaps driven more by their competitive adrenaline than anything else. Right and left. Up and down. Block and stab. Parry and lunge. Roy and Young Link had sparred so often in the past that they already knew each other's style.

Eventually they realized that this contest could not be won by the skills they had in common, but by those which made them unique. Roy ignited his Binding Blade and took advantage of his opponent's temporary shock to kick him in the chest, advancing toward the fallen hero.

"So that's how it is," Young Link said with a boyish grin, rolling out of the way of the flaming sword's downward strike. He quickly drew out his slingshot, loaded a Deku Seed, and flung it into Roy's forehead.  
"Ow!" Roy was so irritated by the unexpected projectile that he almost failed to move out of the way of the next one. He was then forced to focus all his attention on deflecting the flying seeds. He winced as another struck his arm, producing a searing pain.

"Ok, Link…fun's over!"

He ducked just beneath another seed as he made a daring somersault to cut off the distance between them, thus rendering all of his friend's long-range toys ineffective. Coming out of the roll, he elbowed Young Link in the chest and pinned him to the ground with his blade.

Young Link sighed. "All right…you win. This time."

"Get used to it, fairy boy." Roy laughed and grasped the boy's hand, pulling him back to his feet as the buzzer sounded.

"Rawk on, dudes!"

Up at the podium, Rawk Hawk was rather disappointed they hadn't fought to the KO, but he made the most of it and used his charisma to pump up the audience with the idea of an epic duel between close friends. Only one could come out on top, but the warrior spirit remained alive in both of them.

 _And that's the kind of nonsense they pay him for_ , Sonic thought as he took to the field.

* * *

 **Round I, Match XXXI: Scarfy VS. Sonic**

The cute orange monster that had gone demonic at the dinner table was not one Sonic wished to provoke. Yet he had no choice but to face off against this floating head.

He dashed forward with the speed only Sonic could manage and landed a kick straight into the Scarfy.

As he feared, the creature's instinct went into protective overdrive and morphed its face into a ravenous one-eyed savage. It zoned in on him with unsettling haste and purpose.

Sonic did a rather acrobatic jump over the Scarfy, spinning and twisting as he did so—for the crowd's sake, of course. The Scarfy was not one to be fooled, however; it almost immediately rotated to face him once more and advance like an angry piranha.

The hedgehog curled himself into a ball and spun like a sentient marble around the Scarfy, moving so fast that from the stands it looked like a solid ring of blue had formed around the beast.

He timed his exit so that his decisive punch landed squarely in the back of the Scarfy's head, plunging it face-first onto the clay. He could not help but exclaim with satisfaction.

"Yeah!"

* * *

 **Round I, Match XXXII: Prince Peasley VS. Iron Knuckle**

It was the last match of the round, and it did not disappoint.

Though the Beanish Prince was as well versed in the art of swordplay as anyone, the fact was that he had been matched with a soldier of a very different kind. The Iron Knuckle, hailing from Hyrule, wore golden Crusade-style armor embossed with red symbols, and two horns protruded from its helmet. Its sword featured a lovely serrated edge that held all kinds of promises you would never want to hear.

Compared to its blade, Peasley knew his thin rapier would be about as effective as a toothpick against a tree stump. His one advantage over the heavily-armored knight was his superior mobility, so that was what he would have to rely on to win.

As he jumped back to narrowly avoid a bone-crushing blow, Peasley sorely missed his flying Bean Pods, but he supposed having that kind of aid would be about as fair as having a motorcycle pop out of the ground for you, so he contented himself with a fair fight.

Though he walked slow, the Iron Knuckle pivoted surprisingly fast as Peasley attempted to get behind his enemy. It was strangely similar to what he remembered Mario describing about some of his encounters with Bowser. How had he done it? The foe was impossible to circumvent until…

He came to a stop, realizing what he must do. The Iron Knuckle swung its blade at a downward angle, slicing part of Peasley's shoulder in his effort to dodge it. But it was what he had been waiting for.

Ignoring the pain, the prince ran right past the Iron Knuckle's armor as its sword clanged against the clay ground and made a significant dent. He found with a rush of triumph that it was as he had suspected: The armor was fastened at the back by a complex of red cords running through metal loops. Armor his rapier couldn't handle, but fabric…that was another story.

The Iron Knuckle bellowed in dismay as its armor crashed to the ground, revealing its stocky chainmail-clad torso. It sank to the ground after being pricked in a few key areas in the back and fell to the floor.

* * *

"Mama-mía…."

The best thing that could be said about their situation was that they had slept well. The Hypno projected on the wall of the hotel must have used Hypnosis to lull the entire group of Smash Brothers to sleep, and then they had been collected and carried off to wherever they were now.

But where was that?

It took Mario at least a full minute before his eyes began to adjust to the darkness. The first thing he noticed was its size. He couldn't help but compare it with his ordeal in Master Hand's Fortress, which was cold, confined, and lonely. This prison, on the other hand, was enormous. It was, in fact, a large cave, with a rugged ceiling at least 30 feet high and stalactites and stalagmites dotting the surfaces. Damp, rocky ledges roughed up the ground, providing for small plateaus and natural stairs. The only unnatural part of the cell was a steel door in the corner, which lacked even the barred window they had been provided in Master Hand's Room but did at least allow some artificial light to seep in underneath. The element of coldness was the same as his other prison, though, and he supposed there must be some tiny holes in the ceiling that allowed at least some fresh air to filter down to them.

Everyone was there: Ness; Impa; Orca; Darunia; the Rito Postman; Meta Knight; King Dedede; Pac-man; Bomberman; Banjo & Kazooie; Mumbo Jumbo and Humba Wumba; and all the other hundred-odd Smash Brothers who had accompanied them to the hotel. Most were still comatose, as if this were some sort of grandiose slumber party. From what he could see, only Impa and Meta Knight were awake. Seeing him conscious, the two early risers made their way over to him. Mario noticed—without much surprise—that neither of them had their weapons.

"This was Giovanni's doing; I'm sure of it," Impa said. "And we were wrong to trust Wario and Waluigi. They must have betrayed us; no one else here knew of our rendezvous point."

 _I could have a-told you that,_ Mario thought, reprimanding himself for not bringing it up when he'd had the chance.

"We are still in Fourside," Meta Knight's low voice rumbled, his yellow eyes glowing in the dark. "I can sense it. If a trap was set for us, then Master Hand will surely have plans for the rest."

"Impa?"

They all turned to see three shadows creeping toward them from the far end of the chamber. One of them was very short, and the other two appeared to be a man and a woman….

Meta Knight and Mario were ready for action, but Impa, recognizing the voice immediately, went to the silhouettes at once.

"Princess, you're here. Thank goodness."

And, indeed, stepping into the light coming from the door, Zelda, Link, and Nana revealed themselves. They looked just as well rested, yet anxious, as everyone else.

"What a-happened?" As glad to see familiar faces as he was, Mario felt his stomach drop at the sight of those he hadn't seen since their previous imprisonment.

"We showed up at the hotel early," Nana explained. "But this strange yellow Pokémon appeared on the wall and made us go to sleep. We just woke up here a little while ago."

Impa embraced Zelda and then Link. "What about the rest? Professor Frankly and Falco Lombardi were with you, were they not?"

"Frankly and his two assistants had to return to their library right away," Link said. "And good thing, too; otherwise they'd have ended up like us. The Shadow Sirens disappeared into the ground before they could be hypnotized. And Falco…well, he sort of wandered off to do his own thing some time ago."

"I have failed in my duty to protect you, your Highness," Impa said, bending on one knee with an arm crossed over her chest and her head bowed. "For that, I am sorry."

Zelda shook her head. "Rise, my friend. None of us could have predicted the treachery we experienced last night."

Mario swallowed sheepishly, but said nothing.

"Speaking of which," Nana said, "how much time has passed? Anyone have any idea?"

No one did.

Impa turned to Meta Knight. "You have been awake longer than anyone else."

"I don't sleep," the Star Warrior said.

"Right. Do you believe there's any possible way for us to escape?

Meta Knight paused, then slowly shook his head. "The door is reinforced steel. There are some perforations in the ceiling, but all too small for even the smallest Goomba to climb through."

"Very well, then." Impa found an unoccupied ledge and took a seat. "For now, we must bide our time."


	14. Chapter 11: The Darkness Underneath

Chapter 11: The Darkness Underneath

* * *

 **T** he day after Round I was much like the one before. The competitors were fed and expected to return at a certain time in the evening, but otherwise they were left to their own devices. Luigi realized that while many of the defeated fighters had elected to remain at Wario Tower to watch the rest of the tournament, it was difficult to tell which ones were still away (because they were being attended to in the infirmary) and which had decided to take off. It also occurred to him that, taking into account the other Smashers and friends he'd spoken with, this was a 64-player single elimination tournament. Yet the number staying at the hotel was significantly lower than that; there must be some fighters who wished to keep themselves apart—perhaps to lend themselves the element of surprise in the arena.

Luigi had briefly checked out the weight room, but after being shoved and bullied by K. Rool, Waluigi, and that black cat from Team Star Wolf, he immediately regretted his decision and caught a tour bus to the Smash Hall of Fame.

He sighed as he gazed up at the initial 12 Smashers who had more recently become the Original 25. His own portrait seemed to display an awkward, startled expression that was a mere parody of the real fighters surrounding it. What place did he have among these…superheroes? He literally had nothing to offer that Mario couldn't do better, except maybe being able to jump a few inches higher. But he was weaker, less coordinated, and surely not confident enough to last through the next round. He had almost fallen to an aloof orangutan; he shuddered at the thought of what would happen when he had to face a serious opponent.

"You deserve to be here, you know."

He turned to see Young Link and Roy, who were examining the opposite side of the circular room. The former had been the one who had addressed him, and he walked up to Luigi with lingering sadness from losing Navi mixed with a renewed aura of hope.

"Without you, we would never have made it through Akaneia. We fought together to defeat Gharnef…and then we fought Ganondorf and Bowser."

"And we a-basically lost both of those a-fights," Luigi had to point out.

The boy nodded, unperturbed. "True. But you saved my life more than once. And whatever you might think, your princess needs you just as much as she needs Mario. Just like Zelda needs both my older self to be with her right now, and she needs me to help rescue her."

That gave Luigi pause. The child warrior's words had somehow soothed his mind.

"Do you a-think we can a-win the tournament?" he said, this time addressing Roy.

To his surprise, Roy laughed. "Sure. But who cares? Remember, Luigi, we're not here to win a tournament."

"You're a-right." Luigi lifted his eyes to the ominous beings on the astral ceiling. "We're a-here to beat Master Hand."

* * *

 **Round II, Match I: Kirby VS. King K. Rool**

"Get ready to RAAAAAWWWWWK!"

The sky had darkened, and with that, the floodlights flashed on and the excitement of the night commenced.

"Poyo?"

Kirby had seen a lot of strange creatures in his time, but for him, a fat walking crocodile with a cape and crown was a first. He had no time to ponder the mysteries of anthropomorphism, however, for K. Rool wasted no time in charging toward him, flailing his punching gloves wildly.

Kirby began inhaling. When K. Rool remembered what had happened to the food the puffball had swallowed at the dinner table, he reversed his course and attempted to run the other direction. He just managed to get away, but not without one of his gloves slipping off and shooting into Kirby's mouth.

The resident of Dreamland transformed into Fighter Kirby, with only a thin red headband to hint at his new power. He dashed across the arena on his stubby feet and uppercut K. Rool in the jaw before the crocodile could defend himself.

K. Rool spiraled into the air and crashed to the ground. Out of the corner of his disgusting, bulging eye, he spotted Kirby coming in for another attack, waited until the last moment, and brought around his remaining gloved fist to cut off Kirby's path.

Fighter Kirby lost his Fighter ability as he yelled and tumbled through the air like a misguided beach ball. As he arose from the ground, he beheld K. Rool lumbering back with even more reptilian fury than before.

This time, K. Rool was smart enough to stop a safe distance from the small super vacuum. Rather, he lobbed an explosive orange, eager to finish off Kirby the same way he had finished Donkey Kong the previous round.

His grin faded as the orange, instead of exploding on impact, vanished into Kirby's mouth. Not only did Kirby relish the extra zing of the citrus flavor, but he took the opportunity to don his first new Copy Ability since Chicken Kirby.

Orange skin. That was the only clue one needed to identify Orange Kirby's already appropriately-shaped form.

K. Rool laughed. "What are you going to do with that? Juice me to death?"

He had the last laugh, but not in a good way. For Orange Kirby did, indeed, juice himself. A stream of acidic liquid squirted from his mouth and sank into K. Rool's bloodshot eyes.

"AAAAAARGH!"

No verbal description could do justice to the agony the crocodile king experienced as he felt like his brain was melting inside his skull. He wobbled to and fro, blinking and rubbing his eyes but completely incapable of stopping the pain.

Kirby sauntered casually up to his enemy and tapped him lightly in the belly. K. Rool toppled and continued to scream as the Machokes carried him off the field.

* * *

 **Round II, Match II: Metal Yoshi VS. Tiny Kong**

"What the heck?"

Tiny was as mystified as Kirby by her new opponent, but she shrugged and got to work. She began with a volley of red feathers from her Feather Bow as the metallic dinosaur moved steadily toward her. Many of the feathers met their mark, but even these deflected off their target like pebbles off a brick wall.

Metal Yoshi rammed headfirst into Tiny; she cried out as she rolled across the ground for some 15 feet. She found herself helplessly drawn into its mouth and was then spat into the air.

Knowing whatever came next would not be good if she didn't move, Tiny used her ponytails as a propeller to spin and float away from the metal tail that would surely have meant the end for her.

"Wheeee!"

Her flight was cut short, however, by a metal egg that struck her down like an anti-aircraft cannon. As she fell, she managed to toss several of her own exploding oranges, two of which succeeded in blasting Metal Yoshi a comfortable distance away.

Figuring that if it wasn't broke, there was no need to fix it, she followed up with a steady barrage of bouncing fruit grenades, keeping Metal Yoshi at bay—until her supply ran out.

Unwilling to go down without a fight, she slid feet first at the approaching clone, but it disappeared above her and Ground Pounded away whatever fight she'd had left.

* * *

 **Round II, Match III: The Black Knight VS. Mr. Game & Watch**

The Black Knight—for so he was called—hailed from Akaneia, though not even the audience members from that country seemed to know him. He was eight feet tall, shielded in imposing obsidian-black armor with broad shoulder pieces and an ominous faceless helmet, and wielded a classic medieval sword with a large cross-guarded hilt and a symmetrical blade.

Mr. Game & Watch wasn't quite sure how to go about fighting him; he had no sword himself, and what he did have he doubted would be effective against such thick protection. So he started out safe with a doubtful volley of black sausages.

The charred morsels bounced off the Black Knight's motionless figure like hailstones. As if suddenly awakening from a deep sleep, the knight jumped forward and brought his sword down upon the 2-D Smasher.

G.W.'s exquisite thinness saved him. He hopped onto the sword's narrow blade and ran up to the knight's helmet, smashing it with a brick.

He was flung away as the Black Knight shook him off his shoulders with evident irritation and swung his sword again like a mace. This time, G.W. wasn't so lucky. After the blow, he literally fell flat and struggled to get back up before the swordsman could finish him off.

Several more times he barely avoided being smitten by the sword; it was all he could do just to stay in the fight at all. There was no way he would be able to harm the Black Knight in that armor. Then an idea sparked.

 _Maybe I don't have to get inside it at all._

He bounced over the sword's horizontal swing and, frame by frame, directed his descent toward the helmet once more. This time, instead of trying to bash it, he pulled out his scarcely used fishbowl. He dumped the contents into the T-shaped opening on the front, flooding the helmet with water.

The Black Knight gargled from within his armor, trying to remove the helmet with his free hand but unable to do so. He was forced to drop his sword and use both hands.

But the helmet never came off, for at that moment, Game & Watch blasted his fire extinguisher into it for good measure, blowing most of the water back out but leaving the man inside so close to suffocation that he tripped on his red cape and fainted.

* * *

 **Round II, Match IV: Paula VS. The Shadow Queen**

Keeping with the theme of confusion, Paula was nonplussed when she walked into the arena and found nothing there. Rawk Hawk had announced her opponent, yet where was it?

A dark purple, immaterial hand shot out of the ground and wrapped itself around her entire body. She screamed as it dragged her into a shadowy netherworld. A horrible female laugh echoed from every direction. Unable to see anything except what appeared to be torrents of amethyst flames, something overwhelmed her psychic mind with an indescribable darkness. The closest word to it was despair.

She fought back, using every ounce of her energy to push against the darkness with her mind. She sensed it beginning to give way and pressed harder. Then she felt as if she had been turned upside down, and a mob of smaller purple hands assaulted her from every side. It was too much….

All the crowd saw was Paula's motionless body as she was forced back out of the pool of rippling plasma onto the empty arena. The Shadow Queen made no further appearance.

* * *

 **Round II, Match V: Samus VS. Captain Falcon**

"Well, look who it is," Samus said. She caught Captain Falcon with a missile to the gut before he could reply.

He found himself fighting not just Samus, but a crossfire of conflicting emotions inside. What was it about this bounty hunter that so unsettled him? Was it the fact that he'd mistaken her for a man? Was it their rivalry? Or was it something else entirely?

He jumped to his feet, swallowing his distracting feelings and forcing a grin. He said the first thing that came to his mind, figuring that would be a good way to go.

"It'll take a lot more than a few fireworks to keep me away from you, sweetheart."

Dumb.

Oh, well. Too late. Best to roll with it.

He sprinted toward Samus, several incoming missiles separating the two of them at different heights. But Falcon catapulted himself off his hands and flipped into the air, dodging each missile in turn and performing his acrobatics with perhaps a bit more flair than was absolutely necessary. He took Samus unawares with a jab to the stomach, the momentum built up from his run rocketing her a good distance away.

Samus recovered at least as quickly as Falcon had.

"Cute," she said. She proceeded to undergo a sprint of her own. Falcon knew he would be far too fast for her to get the better of him, so he stayed still and watched her with amusement, ready to dive away at just the right moment.

What he hadn't counted on was the Grapple Beam that latched onto him and pulled him into the charging Samus, launching him like a loaded spring.

Now legitimately shaken, Falcon clambered to his feet, resolving to begin taking this battle seriously. He maneuvered past a mixture of charge shots and missiles Samus had been so kind as to send his way, then snatched the front of her suit, tossed her up, and double-kicked her like a human soccer ball.

He followed her up and made to latch himself onto her and finish the match with a fiery shove, but instead, the tip of Samus's arm cannon Meteor Smashed him back the way he'd come. He bounced off the arena once or twice and fell limp, damaged both in body and pride.

* * *

 **Round II, Match VI: Diddy Kong VS. Kamek**

Both parties took to the skies and undertook an almost ludicrously crowd-pleasing dogfight.

Kamek cackled as he sent cluster after cluster of colorful magic shapes at the flying chimp. Diddy, however, had such complete control over his twin-barrel jetpack that he had no trouble swerving around each one. He peppered the Koopa with giant peanuts that, upon contact, caused more pain than one would think.

After a couple minutes of fruitless shooting (no pun intended), Diddy finally landed a peanut right in Kamek's forehead, whose cackle converted into a cough as the bullet swung his body upside down, his arms clenching desperately onto his broomstick as he hovered upside-down.

Diddy barreled (pun intended) into the cliffhanging Magikoopa, successfully dislodging him from his instrument. Kamek tumbled and screamed rather pitifully as he descended. Just before meeting the ground, however, he waved his wand and softened his fall with a cluster of artificial clouds.

The clouds lifted him back to eye level with Diddy Kong. He cackled again.

"Not bad…for a monkey. Now watch a pro at work!"

He raised his wand above his own head, allowing a shower of magical dust to cascade onto himself. His body began to flash and radiate rainbow colors. And he grew into the size of a blue whale.

Diddy whimpered at the sight of the enlarged magician, but he was not ready to give in just yet. He propelled himself out of the way of a sweeping arm, loop-de-looped around the titanic wand, and blasted into his new target: Kamek's glasses.

Knowing his peanuts would be insufficient, Diddy cast his entire body through the lens, stopped just before crashing into Kamek's eyeball, and reversed his jetpack, the flames from the exhaust scorching the pupil like a fiery dart.

Kamek's subsequent bellow almost shattered the floodlights as he covered his injured eye with one hand. This, of course, gave Diddy just enough time to repeat the process with the other eye.

With both eyes blinded, Kamek fell backward off his cloud, shrinking to size, dropping his wand, and calling it a night.

* * *

 **Round II, Match VIII: Fox VS. Metal Falco**

At first Fox thought it was actually Falco. But when no tough talk preceded its first laser shot, he knew it couldn't be him, and on closer look, the metal body helped a bit as well.

He executed his equivalent of the Wolf Flash by speeding forward almost instantaneously, leaving behind the lifelike cloud known as the Fox Illusion. The laser continued harmlessly into an image of Wario's face on the wall's advertisements.

Fox landed a kick on Metal Falco's head, but it didn't have quite the effect he intended. The clone barely even flinched from the blow, whereas his foot was left aching something terrible. It responded with a kick of its own, flinging him into the air like a rag doll, then it jumped and struck him with its dense metal wing, sending him spinning to the surface.

 _This is gonna be one of the toughest fights I've ever fought_ , he thought.

Metal Falco fired another laser at him. Instinctively, he activated his reflector, bouncing the red segment back at it and…melting it on the spot.

 _Never mind, then._

* * *

 **Round II, Match XI: Red VS. Ike**

The bulky Marth-like man Red had seen in Wario Tower now stood before him, broadsword drawn. Suddenly self-conscious of his own twig-like build, the boy was grateful he didn't have to fight this fight alone.

"Go…Sandslash!"

Out of the Pokéball popped what looked like a dog-sized shrew with two-fingered, six-inch claws, black eyes with tiny white pupils, and a mountainous back of rocky brown spikes.

"Sandslash!" the Pokémon said, which translates approximately to, "Looks like this guy was born in the wrong century."

Ike, though stern, had a touch of playfulness in his expression. He gave a small smile and pointed the Ragnell blade at his opponent.

"Prepare yourself!"

"Sandslash, Fury Swipes!"

The shrew scuttled forward like a midget ninja and swung its claws at the young man. Ike used the flat of his sword to push back at the creature, knocking it away like a persistent bat. But Sandslash was not one to rest. It came back again, this time going around the side and leaving several cuts along Ike's back before he could do anything.

Ike cried out in pain, but seeing the hunched yellow figure out of the corner of his eye, he sent a well-aimed kick at the Pokémon and followed after it. He tossed Ragnell ahead, bounded forward, and yelled "Aether!" as he caught his spinning sword midair and swung it down toward the grounded Sandslash.

The dust cleared to reveal nothing beneath his blade but a hole in the ground. Sandslash had used Dig to escape. He pivoted on his feet, trying to figure out where it had burrowed to, but the clay gave no evidence of its hidden resident.

Sandslash popped out of the ground behind him and went in for a savage Slash attack, but Ike had purposefully tilted his sword behind his head to deflect it. He spun on his feet and brought Ragnell around at an angle to finish it off.

"Sandslash!" Red cried. His Pokémon had blocked the swing, but it had come at a price. It had both pairs of claws crossed over its chest against the sword. A definite cracking sound signaled that its claws had already been severely damaged and would not last long against the mercenary's pressure.

Sandslash knew this, and it reverted to its only remaining option. It used its feet to kick up dirt and sand into the man's face.

Ike was forced to look away, coughing and spluttering and blinking furiously. Sandslash curled into a Rollout and tackled him to the ground, Ragnell clattering to the side and an injured claw at his throat.

"Great job, Sandslash! That's enough." Red Returned his loyal friend and rushed over to offer Ike his hand. Ike took it, groaning but bearing the defeat the best he could.

"Well played, my friend. Well played."

* * *

 **Round II, Match XII: Luigi VS. Chet Rippo**

"Ah, Mr. Luigi," Rippo said, fixing him with his pearly gaze. "A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure. Your brother was one of my best customers, you know."

Luigi had heard of the devious of Chet Rippo from Mario, but he did not dare voice his thoughts for fear of inciting the platypus's wrath. Instead, he decided less talk and more walk would give him the best possible chance of winning.

He tossed a green fireball to test the waters; it reflected off Rippo like a mirror. Rippo tutted.

"Badges," he said, revealing his diverse collection within his blue coat. The purple Return Postage badge was the one that had caused Luigi's fireball to reflect back at him. "The true lucre of the Mushroom Kingdom. It's true what they say—gold is power." He held up an Ultra Hammer. "But only when that gold is put to good use."

Luigi dived out of the way as the projectile hit the spot where he had just been with such strength that it created a decent-sized crater. He shot toward Rippo and lunged at him feet-first.

The electric shock elicited a wobbly yell from the plumber as it displayed his skeleton to the audience on and off several times before casting him away.

"Heh…." Rippo circled the downed hero. "Zap Tap badge. One of the finer ones in my collection…had to fork over 200 coins before that thieving rat Ms. Mowz would hand it over. I must say, you've already lasted longer than that simpleton Bowser. For that, I applaud you. But now…" He stopped and appeared to bend whatever equivalent of knees he possessed within that dome-shaped body. "It is time for my personal favorite." He fingered a badge that had the appearance of a pink diamond. "The Power Bounce badge should be more than sufficient to close this deal. It was a pleasure doing business with you!"

Rippo jumped and then bounced off the ground like a trampoline. And then bounced again. And again. And again. Luigi realized with horror that this badge would allow Rippo to continue jumping with his ridiculously beefed-up power until he had squashed him like a Goomba.

Luigi ran for his life, hollering at everyone and no one. The crowd laughed and cheered as Chet Rippo chased him around the edge of the stadium.

He was sweating. There seemed to be no hope. With such a strong defense and no way for him to touch him either directly or indirectly, what could he possibly do?

The badges. They were the source of Rippo's power. If he could somehow separate him from them, then he might stand a chance…but how? He hadn't thought to bring Professor E. Gadd's Poltergust 3000 to vacuum them up.

It was then he noticed something glinting from the ground next to Rippo's abandoned Ultra Hammer: It was the Hammer Throw badge. It must have fallen off by accident when the hammer had been thrown at him. Luigi quickly directed his flight to the Ultra Hammer, snatching it and the badge as he ran and also drawing his own Super Hammer in the other hand.

He remembered the one limiting factor to the badges' advantages: Flower Points. That is, Mario always had to restock on these magical, somewhat nonsensical Flower Points in order to continue using his special moves. And Luigi was willing to bet (or rather, had no choice but to count on) that Chet Rippo had to use Flower Points, too.

Now, as he ran, he chucked one hammer after the other like a well-seasoned Hammer Bro, each one reflecting off Rippo's impenetrable body. The billed black-marketeer laughed at Luigi's seemingly useless efforts.

But Luigi didn't stop. He continued to catch each hammer as it reflected back at him, then threw it again as if he were part of some kind of juggling act. The barrier persisted in protecting Rippo…until it didn't.

All of a sudden, Rippo stopped bouncing and his body stopped rippling with electricity.

"Whaaaaat?" Rippo looked at his badges and flicked them as if they were malfunctioning. He was so preoccupied by his ineffective badges that by the time he looked up, Luigi was less than six inches away from him, a giddy grin lifting the corners of his mustache. Rippo gulped.

"Bye-bye," he said. He positioned his fist exactly underneath Chet Rippo's bill and Super Jump Punched him so high that his receding figure twinkling among the stars of the night sky. Chet Rippo's fading scream was music to the ears of many in the crowd whom he had previously swindled. Only this time, the show had been stolen from him.

* * *

 **Round II, Match XIV: Ganondorf VS. Roy**

The Binding Blade burst into flames, and its wielder rushed forward, going for the win.

It met Ganondorf's dark, curving sword, and the two weapons found themselves interlocked in a furious duel.

Roy used his lightness to evade the Gerudo's swings and attempted to jab at him in return whenever he got the chance, but Ganondorf was much faster than he'd imagined, despite his size.

The flames of Roy's sword reflected in Ganondorf's eyes. Or it was possible that they contained fires of their own. Either way, Roy had no time to ponder trifles when so much was on the line—namely, his ego. If he could defeat Ganondorf, then Young Link (not to mention the rest of the Smashers) would surely see him in an entirely new light. Yet somehow, this dark-skinned man was tougher than any dragon or soldier he'd yet encountered.

"You're quick on your feet, boy." Ganondorf barely dodged a stab toward his chest and reciprocated the gesture only to meet with empty air as Roy jumped backward. "I'll give you that."

The two then clashed their blades against each other in a contest of pure strength. Roy felt himself slipping.

"You are not too bad, either," Roy said. "For an old loon." He slid the Binding Blade and his body beneath Ganondorf's sword and kicked upward into his stomach.

But Ganondorf had been too quick; rather than meeting its target, the foot was gripped in the Gerudo's left fist, the Triforce of Power glowing on the back of the hand.

"But you lack at least one thing," he said. "The will to win no matter the cost."

Roy yelled in agony as Ganondorf brought his elbow down onto his leg, breaking it with a definite snap. Roy fell on the ground and waved his sword in a feeble defense.

Ganondorf laughed as he effortlessly batted the Binding Blade aside. He stood over Roy's body, his feet surrounded by a purple aura just like his hands had in the past.

"You are fortunate that it's not your life I wish to end. Sleep well."

Roy never felt the pain of the kick. He only registered a jarring convulsion of his head and closed his eyes to take the villain's advice.

* * *

 **Round II, Match XVI: Sonic VS. Prince Peasley**

Peasley found himself defending against the equivalent of…well, there was nothing to really compare it with. Perhaps if his old Beanish archenemy Fawful had multiplied into six and sped up time while attacking from all sides, it might come close. In any case, trying to follow the round blue blur that was Sonic the Hedgehog yielded only a number of bruises from several angles.

He swatted his rapier through the air, but to no avail. Sonic just kept rolling behind, above, and from the side, battering him like a punching bag.

After a while, he began to pick up on the hedgehog's speed and patterns. Using the best of his fencer's reflexes, he anticipated the next attack and actually sliced across Sonic's legs, putting an abrupt end to his rapid charges.

Sonic stopped to face him, wincing from his stinging wound, but still managing a smile.

"Someone oughta give you a medal for that. Not very many can catch me once I get rollin'."

"Well, then." Peasley assumed his fighter stance. "Have at it, sir!"

"If you say so."

Although slowed down by his injury, Sonic still closed in on the prince almost as fast as a Fox Illusion. He beat away Peasley's sword, and they engaged in furious hand-to-hand combat. Though Peasley was most comfortable with his rapier, he had been trained to adapt. He landed several solid hits on Sonic, growing more confident with each success.

Sonic twirled on one hand and kicked Peasley from behind, knocking him onto his stomach. The speedster balled up once more and rolled into Peasley's head. The Prince's consciousness retreated into a dizzy surrender.

* * *

The following day, the tournament fighters were even less ambitious in their excursions than before. At least half of them had had to spend time in the infirmary, and those who hadn't were still drained from two consecutive nights of battling. Thus, it was a slow day leading up to Round III.

Red, Luigi, Kirby, Young Link, and Diddy returned to the colosseum later in the afternoon to visit their friends who were still in the infirmary—Diddy to see the other four Kongs; Young Link to see Roy; Kirby to see Blade Knight, who had once assisted Meta Knight in training him as a Star Warrior; Luigi to see Yoshi and Peasley; and Red to see his sister, April, who had slaughtered the Pokémon Burglar in her first battle, though her Butterfree had apparently met an unfortunate end against The Shadow.

The curving cement hall led them past some concession stands that were steaming with food being prepared for the evening's events. The Krusha who was their escort eventually led them down a flight of steps into an almost identical hallway underground. They reached a pair of large steel doors, upon which the Krusha pounded with his fist like an angry IRS agent.

Whoever Red had been expecting to answer the door, Waluigi wearing a medical apron certainly hadn't been it. His expression was one of pitifully disguised annoyance, which was enhanced by the bruise coloring his right eye. Having heard of Popo's encounter with Wario, Red wondered if Waluigi had also participated but had been less than fortunate in his last fight.

"Yeah?" Waluigi said.

"We're here to see our friends," Red said.

The gangly man seemed to tense up in a moment of slight panic, trying to decide how to respond.  
"Er…yeah. Come on."

He led them into the infirmary. To Red, the place reminded him of a Pokémon Center, except built for dozens of patients. The room was whitewashed and appeared about as big as half of the arena above them. Red passed his eyes over the white-sheeted beds, some with curtains pulled around them; medical equipment dotted all over the room; medical Toads attending to the moaning, groaning, or downright growling of the defeated participants. In one bed, the Goomba King whined as a Toad nurse disinfected a small scratch on his head. In another, Paula's vitals were being carefully monitored as the doctors were still clueless about what had happened to her when the Shadow Queen had pulled her into the ground. In a bed adjacent to her, a small Koopa with a red tuft of hair whom Luigi recognized as Bowser Jr. appeared to be in the same condition. Red's eyes paused on a conspicuous steel door built into the flat wall of the semicircular room.

What was beneath the other half of the arena?

Each of the Smashers branched off as they spotted their friends and family. As Luigi, Kirby, and Diddy went to comfort their injured friends, Red found his way over to where his sister sat kneeling beside the bed of her injured Butterfree, the giant butterfly's beautiful wings twitching.

"How is she, sis?" he asked.

April looked up with an inscrutable expression. "She'll be okay. I can't believe I let that cloaked creature get the better of my Serenity. It did this weird thing with the air, turning it all ripply and reddish, and she sort of went into slow motion…."

"Ah." Red put a hand on the girl's shoulder. Her red shirt and blue shorts along with her straight brown tresses made her seem much older than the childlike sister he remembered, even though she was several years his elder. Then again, he was only 14 himself; surely neither of them could be growing up quite so fast. Ever since those metal Smashers had dropped into the Pokéfloat Festival, he felt like he had been forced to become a man just to stay alive. He wondered how much more he would have to mature before all of this was over.

A loud _thump_ resounded from what seemed the least likely of places: the steel door on the wall. Red, along with nearly every occupant of the infirmary, fell silent and turned to stare at it, as if expecting the door to blow down at any second.

The banging noises repeated several more times—as if someone on the other side were trying to get in.

Waluigi alone did not appear confused. Instead, he appeared terrified by the sound. Because he knew what was behind that door.

He almost seemed to dive toward the wall, where he pulled a red emergency lever. Suddenly, the infirmary's whiteness became tinged with the red lights flashing from the low ceiling. There was no siren, but with the reaction that ensued, there might as well have been.

Some of the patients and staff panicked, those who were physically able running out of the room, others screaming and hiding behind the thin bed curtains as if that would protect them. In seconds, two lines of Krushas armed with orange guns (orange being the ammo, not the color) filed into the room. They ushered out all the visitors and slammed the infirmary doors shut behind them.

Red looked at Luigi, who looked at Young Link, who looked at Diddy, who looked at Kirby, who yawned and fell asleep.

"What was that?" Red whispered.

"Whatever it was, WarioWare sure didn't want us to find out," said Young Link.

As everyone else who had fled went away to buy hot dogs and whatnot, the five of them stood and listened for commotion coming from inside, but they heard nothing.

"Well, we're not getting in there now," Diddy said after a few minutes. "I'm going back to my waiting room. The next round is gonna begin in just a couple hours."

They nodded to each other and dispersed, Luigi carrying Kirby's snoring body awkwardly in his arms.

* * *

 **Round III, Match I: Kirby VS. Metal Yoshi**

Kirby woke up just in time to walk onto the field. The sight of Metal Yoshi, however, snapped him into alertness. His eyes widened as the clone encased itself in a metallic egg and powered its way toward him.

He transformed into his rock form and caused the giant ball bearing to bump into the air beyond its target. Kirby reverted to his puffy pink self and watched as Metal Yoshi popped out of its egg and landed smoothly on its feet. It began another charge, this time headfirst.

The Smasher made to repeat his previous strategy, but before he could transform, a metal egg battered him shortly before he was rammed by Metal Yoshi's head.

As he spun through the air, he caught a glimpse of another egg coming after him. Luckily, he was facing the projectile when it would have hit him, so he was able to suck it into his mouth and land with his cheeks bulging.

Metal Yoshi, unaccustomed to Kirby's fighting style, interpreted his bloated immobility as vulnerability and went in for yet another headbutt. But as it neared the swollen Star Warrior, it found itself colliding with its own metal egg, which had been spat back at it.

While Metal Yoshi was crashing across the arena, Kirby puffed up on top of the wall where the first row of the audience sat less than five feet away. He turned to them with an adorable wave, eliciting a cheer until he began to inhale all of their food, hats, foam fingers, cell phones, wallets, car keys, and other loose items.

"Poyo!" he said with his mouthful, as if this expression of gratitude would placate the horrified spectators. He floated away, and while in the air, took careful aim at Metal Yoshi's still-recuperating figure and ejected the contents of his mouth in the form of a white star the size of a truck.

Even though Metal Yoshi had seen the star coming, the force of being hit by its own substance had nearly crippled it, and the meteor was too big and too fast. It tried in vain to crawl out of the way, but the giant star did its job in the end—at the expense of slightly decreasing Kirby's popularity.

* * *

 **Round III, Match II: Game & Watch VS. The Shadow Queen**

Like Paula, Mr. Game & Watch walked out into an empty arena. Then, the purple hand surged up from beneath him and attempted to drag him down…

…but it didn't work. For whatever reason, G. W. seemed to be immune to her shadow-based attacks—perhaps because he was not much more substantial than a shadow himself. The Shadow Queen relinquished her hold and disappeared into the ground, resurfacing some 15 feet away.

G. W. didn't even try to use his sausages. Instead, he circled the Floormaster warily, looking for an opportunity to use his Judgment Hammer which could, on occasion, prove decisive. Hopefully, luck would be on his side.

The Shadow Queen remained stationary and considered her opponent, as if she were trying to decide which way to cook a chicken for dinner. Then her hand balled itself into a fist and lunged at Mr. Game and Watch, the arm stretching from the ground beneath it like a rubber band. Mr. Game and Watch used his built-in firefighting trampoline to bounce high into the air, then plunged toward the spot where the arm came out of the ground. He swung his Judgment Hammer onto the stretch of arm nearest to the surface.

An electric shock surrounded the hammer as it hit its target, a "6" displayed on the sign G.W. held up with his other hand. Alone, the hammer would have done nothing, but with the electrical surge, a screeching wail came from the returning hand, reminiscent of its battle against Mario in the Palace of Shadow. Mr. Game & Watch backed away as the purple hand writhed and screeched on the ground and finally sank wearily into the floor, leaving empty space in its place.

He held up his hands triumphantly, one clutching his lucky hammer. But unfortunately for him, the Shadow Queen was just biding its time. Soon after he took his sight off the battlefield, dozens of smaller purple hands shot out of the ground and overwhelmed him.

But he would not go down without a fight—smashing the demonic appendages with sausages and turtles, freezing and shocking and scorching them with his assorted tools until he was finally taken down by the amorphous mob.

* * *

 **Round III, Match III: Samus VS. Diddy Kong**

Diddy used the missiles as stepping stones as he made his way toward Samus, popping the occasional peanut as he went. As he was about to come down hard on her with his feet, Samus's Screw Attack caught him in its vicious gyrations, battering him from all sides before ejecting him like a piece of toast.

The Kong ruled out aerial assaults from his mental list of viable attack strategies and went for a more direct route, this time ducking beneath the missiles rather than jumping on them. When he met the missile nearest his opponent, he backtracked, running with the explosive. He put his arms around it and redirected it in a U-turn that came as such a surprise that Samus did not react in time to escape the blast.

She clambered to her feet and reverted to small charge shots, which she figured could not be used against her as the missile had been.

Diddy cartwheeled past most of them but shrieked as one nailed him in the tail, almost throwing him off balance. He regained his stability and faced Samus once more.

"Don't feel too bad when you lose to a monkey," he said.

"Trust me…." Samus snatched him with her grapple beam and tossed him behind her. "That won't be a problem."

Diddy shook off the pain of the fall and approached again, slowly this time, and at the last moment, he jumped over the bounty hunter's extended grapple beam and latched onto her helmet. Samus tried to shake him off as he beat down with his tiny fists, tittering as if he were riding a mechanical bull at an amusement park.

Finally, he kicked himself away, sending Samus right onto the banana peel he'd purposely left behind her before she had tossed him. She slipped to the ground, the metal clanging against the clay like a frying pan dropped from a rooftop.

Diddy pounced onto Samus's suit before she could get up and serenaded her ears with a point-blank tune from his electric guitar. And that was the end of that.

* * *

 **Round III, Match IV: Wario VS. Fox**

Wario guffawed as the motorcycle rose out of the ground at his side once again. He swung himself on and accelerated.

 _So that's the kind of cheating Popo was talking about_ , Fox thought. He shrugged and drew his laser, shooting the vehicle's engine.

It exploded.

Wario wailed as he sailed through the air and landed face-first. He brushed off his overalls and glared at Fox.

"Let's a-go, then."

He charged at him with his head bent and shoulder to the front. Fox jumped over the fat money-grabber and shot him in the behind, causing him to react as if a torch had been held to his backside.

By this point, Wario had clearly lost his temper, his face as red as a beet. He came at Fox again, only this time he jumped at the same time as Fox, bent over, and let rip a small mushroom cloud of fatal flatulence.

Fox had never been assaulted by such a combination of pain and pungency in his life. It was like a skunk had simultaneously sprayed him and hit him with gale force wind. He flew all the way into the wall of the arena and almost lost consciousness then and there. But he remembered his dislike of Wario's dirty tactics and how much he wanted to see him fail, and that kept him in the game.

"Wha?"

Wario was not used to his victims recovering from his gaseous ejections. Oh, well. It was time to pull another trick from his sleeve.

Fox watched in disbelief as another section of the arena opened up to afford Wario yet another weapon. It was a stack of Bob-ombs, their fuses lit and their eyes narrowed with some kind of unprovoked anger.

Wario grabbed the entire stack and began hurling them at his foe. Fox barely avoided the large blast radius of the first two and then bee-lined toward the wielder of the bombs. He got as close as he dared, and just as Wario began to chuck another Bob-omb, he shot its fuse where it met the black spherical body.

For good measure (and personal satisfaction), the pilot Fox-Illusioned through the explosion and punched Wario hard in the face. Wario rolled onto his stomach with a groan and signaled his defeat with a final tiny squeal of methane.

* * *

 **Round III, Match VI: Red VS. Luigi**

"Well, Luigi," Red said with a grin, tossing two Pokéballs into the arena. "Let's see if you can handle us."

"Okey-doke," Luigi said, intentionally not committing either to confidence or uncertainty.

Pichu and Jigglypuff relished the chilly night air and were at first slightly confused by the identity of their opponent, but realizing they were in the tournament, they quickly accepted the task at hand.

Pichu charged at Luigi with a fierce Skull Bash, but Luigi caught him by the head, swung him around a few times, and hurled him into Jigglypuff. The Balloon Pokémon gave Pichu an annoyed look and carried out her own course of action. She floated just close enough to provoke Luigi into throwing a punch, let out a puff of air to push herself back, then propelled herself into Luigi's face with a piercing Double Slap.

Luigi was unable to free himself from the successive slaps, which flipped him upside-down with each strike. He wanted to scream as Pichu nailed him with an electric Tackle from above, ending the slap-fest but jolting his senses and pushing him onto the ground.

He now found himself with Pichu on one side and Jigglypuff on the other. He was surrounded. Jigglypuff began spinning and unleashed a Rollout, and he knew there was only one way out of this. He dropped to the floor and allowed the Pokémon to roll over his body and into her partner instead. While Jigglypuff fell from her misdirected attack, Luigi rose in an uppercut punch and followed through with an aerial flip kick, sending her to roughly the same place that the Rollout had sent Pichu.

This time it was Pichu who was annoyed. The two of them began arguing about what to do next, each unwilling to take another pointless blow for the other.

Red was exasperated. "Pichu, Jigglypuff, stop fighting! You have to work together!"

But by the time they finally settled their quarrel, the plumber had already crashed into them with his Luigi Cyclone, knocking their heads together and then punching both of them in different directions with an almost confident finish.

Red sighed as his two friends hit the ground and fainted.

"You deserved to win that one," he admitted as he Returned them.

* * *

 **Round III, Match VII: Metal Ness VS. Ganondorf**

Ganondorf found Metal Ness not only just as tactically intelligent as its original, but equally adept with the boy's PSI capabilities. It also seemed to know every trick Ganondorf tried before he attempted it. No form of punch, elbow, or Gerudo Kick seemed to startle Metal Ness in the slightest—even when it was hit. And as the battle went on, its attacks were becoming increasingly difficult to avoid. Though he was quite strong and had reasonably good reflexes, he could not keep dodging the doppelganger's PK Flashes, Fires, and Thunders forever.

Ganondorf drew his broadsword and charged at the metal figure. In response, it summoned a particularly potent PK Fire, and then when Ganondorf was nearly upon it, unleashed its attack. Ganondorf swerved to the side and brought his blade down on Metal Ness's head, the sword rippling with an aura of dark power.

As he swung, the clone made a last-ditch effort. It charged up a huge ball of energy, a mix of all three of its telekinetic attacks, and launched it at Ganondorf. But the entire sphere was absorbed by the Triforce of Power, which manifested itself in the sword's purple aura. As the weapon literally cleaved Metal Ness in two, the iron figure hopelessly tried a PSI Shield, which would only have helped in absorbing energy projectiles. A lot of good that did it.

The two halves of Metal Ness's body fell to the ground, each pupil-less eye staring emotionlessly from its statue-like body, the inner edges melted and deformed by Ganondorf's magic.

It was true that Metal Ness was no more. But Rawk Hawk and the audience had enjoyed the show so much that Ganondorf was allowed to remain in the tournament despite his lethal solution.

* * *

 **Round III, Match VIII: Sylux VS. Sonic**

The bounty hunter with the lime green streak running down its armor did not seem to be one much for small talk. It led out by firing a cluster of neon green particles, which appeared to do nothing at first, but then shot toward the nearest target like mechanized fireflies.

Sonic cried out as the neutrinos latched onto him and began draining his energy, siphoning it into Sylux, whose body was glowing the same green hue. Sonic curled into a ball and rolled in at least a dozen circles, dislodging the high-tech leeches and snuffing them out.

He directed himself toward Sylux and bounced into its chest like a sentient cannonball, knocking it to the ground.

Sylux shot another round of its Shock Coil into Sonic, forcing him to back away and roll around again to free himself of the energy parasites. Once he was finally liberated, he looked up, panting, ready for more.

But what had once been the humanoid Sylux had transformed into a sphere similar to Samus's Morph Ball and Sonic himself—except it was composed of a glowing green orb encased by two intertwined metal bars that retained the general design of Sylux's armor. The Lockjaw.

So it was to be a battle of the balls, then.

To his surprise, Sonic's enemy did not direct itself toward him, but appeared to roll in a circle around him like a piece of radioactive alien technology (which, for all he knew, it was). He was puzzled by its evasive tactics until he spotted the small green spheres it was periodically leaving behind.

He rolled at an angle to cut Sylux off before it formed a complete perimeter around him, but it accelerated at the last moment, completing its orbit, and then something bad happened.

All the Electric Bombs linked to each other in a many-pointed star with segments of green energy…and Sonic was caught in the middle of it.

It would have been over if he hadn't thought to Spring Jump (a red spring literally popping out of the ground to propel him skyward) a fraction of a second before the connected bombs completed their grid and exploded. From above, he spotted Sylux's spherical form and cut aerodynamically through the air with his foot extended, nailing it like a pellet against the edge of a Hungry Hungry Hippo.

Sylux bounced off the arena wall and arced back over him, leaving a steady stream of Electric Bombs in its wake. Sonic realized it was about to create an electric rainbow that would feel much less pleasant than a sunny day. He dashed to the spot where Sylux was going to land and caught the Lockjaw just as it completed its arc and activated the bombs.

He kicked it back into its own web of electric currents, where it was subjected to its own metaphorical medicine. The green bolts flashed around the bounty hunter like a scene from a science fiction movie, leaving Sonic the victor.

* * *

Back in the dungeon, it was clear that Bomberman's bombs were not up to the task of blowing out the steel door. He had begun by kicking a small blue one straight into the door, which seemed to rattle the cavern itself, but the stubborn barrier remained fixed.

As he experimented with progressively larger bombs, the prisoners could hear a commotion from the other side; it seemed that their escape attempt had not gone unnoticed, and even if they did penetrate the door, there would be no telling what kind of unpleasantness awaited them on the other side.

But after exhausting all his options, Bomberman shook his head and sat back on a ledge, exhausted. The sources of the shuffling noises on the other side seemed to realize they had no cause to fear and dispersed.

"Well," Impa said with a sigh, "it was worth a try."

"Hey, all you Looney-Toons!"

She and the other Smash Brothers turned to the speaker, which at first glance, appeared to be Banjo's backpack. But the red Breegull, Kazooie, burst from within with an air of snobbery.

"While you've been hitting rocks together like cavemen, Banjo and I've figured a way out of here."

Banjo nodded and picked up where she'd left off. "Kazooie's able to cough up all kinds of eggs…Fire Eggs, Ice Eggs, even Grenade Eggs. We've been talkin', and I think it's time we put her Clockwork Kazooie Egg to use. It hatches a small mechanized Kazooie that can wander off on its own and show us more of where we are, maybe even blastin' the lock from the other side."

"I only have one left," Kazooie added, as if by doing this she would be sacrificing her own flesh and blood. "But shall I give it a whirl?"

Neither Impa nor anyone else had anything even close to resembling a better plan, so after a moment, the leader of the Smash Brothers nodded. "Let's do it."

Five minutes later, Banjo had positioned himself on top of the highest ledge in the cavern, allowing his partner to extend her neck so her beak could spit the egg onto a higher ledge that wound up into one of the small natural air ducts in the ceiling.

Banjo gave her an inquisitive thumbs up, which the bird returned the best she could with her wing. She projected an egg the size of an NFL football from her mouth. It was red with yellow spots, but those watching only saw the shell for a second before the mechanized Kazooie, with tiny metal claws, beak, and winding key on its back, broke out of the egg and commenced its journey up into the hole.

As it disappeared, Kazooie closed her eyes and went into a trance-like state; she became one with the Clockwork Kazooie, seeing everything through its eyes and relaying what she saw as best she could as it went along.

For several minutes, it scratched its way through the darkness with only one path to follow and no way to see where it was going. Then, just when Kazooie was beginning to worry that it would reach a dead-end, it rounded a corner and popped out into the light.

It fell into a strange chamber that was new to Kazooie, but all too familiar to Link, Zelda, Nana, Mario, and Ness.

The kraken-like machine stretching its metal tentacles across both floor and ceiling. The panels of switches and buttons and blinking lights. The central platform with an orange trophy stand set ominously upon it.

"Is there anyone in there?" Zelda asked anxiously as Kazooie narrated her new surroundings. Kazooie shook her head, but then froze abruptly. Something had happened.

Back in the trophy machine chamber, a door opened that let in brilliant white light—the same artificial brightness of the infirmary. The inside of the door was the exact color of the whitewashed walls, and although Kazooie couldn't have known it, this room did in fact lead directly from the infirmary itself.

Several figures came into the room, some less willingly than others. Wario, Waluigi, and Giovanni led the way in, and behind them two Krushas dragged in two familiar faces: Samus and Captain Falcon.

But the clockwork Kazooie was powerless to act as it witnessed the proceedings; it was capable of creating a small explosion, but nothing near powerful enough to destroy the machine or even seriously injure one of the villains.

"What kind of voodoo are you playin' at?" Falcon yelled as the door was shut securely behind them. "At least let the girl go; she hasn't done anything to you!" He writhed within the Krusha's grip, but he felt unusually fatigued; they must have drugged him and Samus while they were recovering.

Samus, on the other hand, appeared strangely tranquil. "Shut up, Falcon," she said, the drowsiness in her voice apparent.

Wario laughed as Giovanni started up the machine and Samus was strapped onto the platform, suit and all. Wario did, however, look disheveled, absentmindedly massaging his aching bottom where Fox had zapped it.

"You should a-take the lady's advice, Captain."

"Yeah," Waluigi said.

Captain Falcon hung limp as the podium began to glow and Samus's unresisting figure would soon be enveloped in whiteness.

Suddenly, he elbowed the Krusha in the face and wrung himself from its grasp, creating a panic. He took on both Krushas at once, dodging in such a way that one accidentally punched the other. He kneed the first in the chest before it could retaliate. Both Krushas were down.

He made for the control panel and his fingers were inches from shutting the machine down when he felt his body crumple as if it were made of Jell-O. Giovanni had injected a sedative into his neck at the last moment, smiling like the devil.

The machine completed its process, temporarily blinding all in the room and subsiding to reveal the solidified figure of Samus Aran.

"No…." Falcon no longer put up a fight as Samus was unstrapped from the podium and he was put in her place.

"Eh?" Waluigi noticed a movement from the corner of his eye. He crept over suspiciously and found the Clockwork Kazooie watching from behind one of the machine's appendages. He brought his foot down as if to stomp on a rat. Only it turned out to be an exploding rat that would burn his heel.

The last thing Clockwork Kazooie saw was the bottom of Waluigi's shoe as the machine started to whir once more.

"Whoa…." Kazooie shook here head and blinked, dazed from what she'd witnessed through her robotic avatar.

"What happened out there, Kazooie?" Banjo asked. The bird had ceased narrating ever since the brawl had broken out between Captain Falcon and the Krushas.

But all she could say was:

"This…is really bad."

* * *

Crazy Hand hovered above the pulsing Battlefields, thousands of Wire Frames thronging below him. Dotted among the purple masses were the gelatinous domes that had served to transport and spawn Wire Frames all over the Nintendo World. The mindless beings shuffled against each other, created for only one thing: to fight.

The Tournament was coming to a close, and the time had come to carry out the next stage of the plan. The giant left hand curled his fingers with restless bloodlust.

"The city awaits us," he boomed, his voice echoing several miles in every direction. He pointed one white finger at the army. "Now go."

The Wire Frames began filing into the domes, vanishing like Alice through the Looking Glass, except perhaps with a less benign purpose.

Fourside would soon be theirs.


	15. Chapter 12: Shadows and Stars—Part I

Chapter 12: Shadows and Stars—Part 1

* * *

 **O** ne day of the tournament remained. After the shenanigans in the infirmary, Luigi had grown increasingly suspicious of the tournament's inner workings. He noticed that remarkably few participants had returned from the infirmary even after three days' rest. DK, Yoshi, Samus, Captain Falcon, Popo, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Bowser, and Roy had still not been released, and Young Link had been called back in even though he'd appeared perfectly well. Luigi knew Red was worried sick but could do nothing but await his Pokémon's recovery.

He felt more anxious than ever as he sat in his room. Tonight, the last three rounds of the tournament would take place, and the champion would be decided. It wasn't that he was concerned about winning (although the prize money of 1,000 Coins he'd already earned by reaching the finals was nice, and the Master Hand-destroying weapon promised to the winner still sounded appealing); his main concern was avoiding any permanent injuries when he inevitably lost.

The day passed by slowly and quickly at the same time. He only left his room to eat, during which he would only socialize with Professor E. Gadd and Prince Peasley. Gadd tended to agree with him that something seriously fishy was going on, and they would all have to be on alert moving forward.

At midday, Wario Tower received an unexpected visitor.

"Diddy! Are you still in? Am I too late?"

Dixie Kong, Diddy's girlfriend, looked remarkably similar to Tiny with matching ponytails, only she preferred a pink beret and knotted shirt, and she was almost the spitting image of her significant other in size and facial features.

Diddy rushed forward to hug her, temporarily stunned by the pleasant surprise.

"Dixie, I thought you and Kiddy were out trading with the Brothers Bear."

"Yeah, we did. Got a boat-load of bananas from it, too. I left Kiddy to watch Gramps after I heard what was going on here." She glanced at some of the watching Smashers. "What have you been up to?"

Once Diddy had done his best to explain everything that had happened since DK took off in Bowser's Clown Car, Dixie sighed.

"Wow. Sounds like you've been having all the adventures without me. Well, now that I'm here, count me in!"

"Yeah, of course," Diddy said, not quite sure what their upcoming "adventures" would entail.

"Cool. I'll be cheering for ya in the audience! Later!" She winked and skipped back out the revolving doors to go find her seat at the colosseum.

Diddy saw Luigi, Fox, and Sonic watching him, grinned with a bit of a blush, and scampered off to his room.

Finally, the finalists boarded the bus and rode in silence to the colosseum. Among them were Luigi, Kirby, Diddy Kong, Fox, Ganondorf, and Sonic; the remaining two must have already gone ahead.

They were shown into the circular hallway and inside a posh finalists' waiting room that reminded Luigi of the lobby in Wario Tower. Again, the seventh and eighth finalists apparently had a room to themselves.

Ganondorf went off to brood alone in a corner. Fox and Kirby wandered across the large room to explore its lavish contents. This left Luigi, Diddy, and Sonic sitting together on the couches.

Luigi looked at Sonic, realizing this was a person of whom he'd never heard anything before, yet the hedgehog had already proved himself a superb fighter. He wondered why Sonic had never been invited to the Smash Tournaments, and at length, he decided to give voice to his curiosity.

"So Sonic, where do you a-come from?"

Sonic looked at him as if he'd just asked what two plus two was. He hesitated with a puzzled expression, then spoke.

"You mean you don't remember?"

Now it was Luigi who was confused. "Remember a-what?"

"The Copyright Wars, Luigi," Diddy said as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "Sonic's homeland was in the Sony World, but after the war he ended up here."

"Uh…."

Sonic blinked. "You know, it's not the first time this has happened. Actually, I've brought it up occasionally to others in your world, but no one seems to have any idea what I'm talking about, even though they were in the thick of it." He looked at Diddy. "No one except the Kongs and those weird people from the Isle o' Hags and Timber's Island…."

"So what a-happened?"

"Well," Sonic said, "it began when the Microsoft World invaded—"

The door slammed open and the responsible Krusha grunted for Sonic and Diddy to come with him. The Quarterfinals were about to begin, and they were needed on the other side to be in position to enter the arena.

"Maybe another time," Sonic said as the two of them followed the bulky reptile out the door.

* * *

 **Quarterfinal Match #1: Kirby VS. The Shadow Queen**

When Kirby entered the colosseum, he heard the chant of "Shadow Queen!" booming from the audience. Evidently, no one expected much of a fight, as only Game & Watch had been immune to being pulled through the ground. But Kirby had an idea that would protect him from suffering the same fate.

Hundreds of purple hands rose out of the ground around the primary one, and all of them stretched out to drag Kirby to his doom. Kirby waited for all of the small ones to be in one huge mass of purple arms, then began the classic procedure of sucking in his enemies. Every single arm except for the larger primary hand was sucked into Kirby's mouth, which had scarcely ever been fuller. Kirby's cheeks bulged and pulsed in places due to all of the writhing purple hands encased inside. Then, with one huge gulp, he swallowed them all, simultaneously ridding himself of his many minor opponents and discovering one of the most powerful Copy Abilities he had ever found.

So far, Kirby had discovered two new abilities within the past couple weeks: Chicken Kirby and Orange Kirby. In fact, by the end of this tale, Kirby would have discovered no less than five new Copy Abilities. But this one, Shadow Kirby, number three, was the most powerful by far. Unfortunately, Kirby would not have another opportunity to use this ability, but those who saw Shadow Kirby were guaranteed never to forget it.

Kirby looked most comparable to his Mr. Game & Watch ability, but he was not pure black. Purple energy and mist rippled around him, but Kirby hadn't changed on the inside at all; he was still the lovable puffball his friends had always known. He faced his now-solitary opponent and narrowed his eyes.

At this point, the crowd, seeing that Kirby now possibly had a chance of victory, turned its favor to the purple-black puffball, with the chant "Shadow Queen!" fading and rising with renewed vigor shouting, "Kir-by! Kir-by!" Even his opponent seemed a little disconcerted by the sudden change of events (as far as her mood could be determined in the form of a Floormaster).

Kirby disappeared into the ground just like the Shadow Sirens would and appeared on the opposite side of his opponent, challenging it with a stubby purple arm. Finally, his enemy had recomposed herself and decided to end it quickly before Kirby realized the full potential of his newfound powers.

Suddenly, the hand shot toward the Smasher like a weightless nightmare. Kirby responded by jumping and kicking forward to meet the Shadow Queen's attack. The result was the beginning of a shadowy brawl that was near impossible to follow by either Rawk Hawk or the crowd. With the same dangerous color pattern in both enemies, the only way to distinguish between them was the faint outline around each figure.

Shadow Kirby fought valiantly, but the so-called Shadow Queen was just a tad too strong for him to cope with. After he had landed several kicks, slashed the wrist with his Cutter Blade, and blasted her with clouds of dark energy that would have KO'd almost any other opponent, the large purple hand finally got a grasp on him.

The arm spun itself round and round, faster and faster like a malfunctioning carnival ride (Bowser could have related), and sent Kirby careening into the far wall like a professional baseball pitch.

Kirby slid to the ground with an exhale of defeat as his vision blurred and he traded the powers of Shadow Kirby for the shadows of sleep.

* * *

 **Quarterfinal Match #2: Diddy Kong VS. Fox**

This was the last respectably fought match. Once again, both contestants were highly favored by the crowd (just about all the finalists were), but only one could walk away victorious.

Diddy began by testing the mobility of his opponent. He sent a barrage of bouncing orange grenades, but Fox used this as an opportunity to show off to the crowd by avoiding them with acrobatic flips and jumps.

Then Diddy tested the pilot's auditory endurance with a few loud chords from his star-shaped guitar. Fox, accustomed to loud noises from Arwings and other spacecrafts, was unaffected. Fox jerked into a running position, and with a _whoosh_ of his Fox Illusion, was suddenly on Diddy's other side, and the Kong had been knocked to the ground.

Diddy, in response, crouched with his hands over his head, began running in place, and charged into Fox with such speed that even the nimble fox was caught by surprise. Fox flew back about ten feet and slid a few more, landing on one knee with his right arm resting on the other. He looked up, now slightly aggravated, and ran full speed at the clothed chimp.

But Diddy Kong, at the last second, ignited his double-barreled jetpack and launched into the air, Fox skidding to a halt beneath him. Diddy fired several peanuts straight down at where Fox was standing, but the Cornerian rolled out of the way just in time.

Fox backed up and carefully followed Diddy's flying form. He took out his gun and aimed at the flying monkey. Meanwhile, Diddy followed up his first peanut attack with a dozen more, a few of them even following Fox like heat-seeking missiles. One sneaky peanut snuck behind Fox and hit him in the back, knocking him down face-first.

Fox, now red-eyed and fully agitated, leapt back onto his feet and took careful aim.

"Enjoy your 1,000 coins, Diddy—and your trip down!" he said more for his own benefit than his opponent's.

He fired the laser, striking Diddy's left jetpack barrel, which didn't completely explode but burst into flames, singeing Diddy's brown fur and sending him spiraling downward.

Fox sprinted full speed and jumped toward Diddy feet-first to finish him off. But while falling, Diddy saw Fox and managed to let loose one last orange grenade, which replaced Fox's intended target.

While Diddy thumped rather painfully but still consciously onto the clay ground, Fox's unintentional target exploded and propelled him 20 feet higher. He fell and landed like an unconscious dog raining from the sky.

* * *

 **Quarterfinal Match #3: The Shadow VS. Luigi**

Luigi was astonished. He knew that the shadowy figure who had invited them to enter the tournament had also entered it himself, but it didn't occur to Luigi that he might end up fighting him. He was still weary from the faceoff against Chet Rippo, and he was concerned about what this opponent might have in store.

But instead of revealing himself like Luigi expected, The Shadow simply said, "You've come a long way, Luigi. What a long way to fall."

"Oh, but it a-won't be a-me who will be falling!"

Luigi bent his knees, assumed his fighting position, and tipped his head forward, preparing to launch his Green Missile.

The Shadow stepped aside as Luigi sped through the spot where he had just been standing. The cloaked figure turned around to watch as Luigi continued soaring away from him.

"You can do better than that, Luigi!"

But the grin that had formed on The Shadow's hidden features faded as the Green Missile did a vertical U-turn in midair like an Arwing.

Luigi sped back at The Shadow, catching him by surprise. The Shadow barely escaped Luigi's fiery green fury by diving out of the way, but his cloak had caught fire. Green fire, to be precise.

As Luigi maneuvered his Green Missile form to go in for another attack, The Shadow shook his black cloak to put out the fire, but the stubborn flames persisted in eagerly eating it up.

Meanwhile, Luigi's Green Missile had once again redirected itself and was speeding toward the mysterious fighter. The Shadow leapt high into the air as Luigi passed underneath, going much higher than Luigi had expected. In midair, he drew out three large silver metal disks and tossed one after the other at Luigi's flaming form.

The first disk dug harmlessly into the ground where Luigi had left a path of green flames, sticking out of the clay. The second sliced off the majority of Luigi's green hat, severing the L and even part of Luigi's brown hair. The third one, _slightly_ misdirected, shot off into the audience, generating screams as a Lakitu's fishing line was cut and a Pianta's popcorn bucket was split in two, spilling popcorn onto the seats and sending the buttery substance flying everywhere as the turquoise Pianta leaped out of his seat in fright, knocking down two Waddle Dees sitting behind him in the process.

Luigi, exhausted from using his Green Missile, did a horizontal U-turn and began skidding on his stomach (rather painfully) toward The Shadow, who had by now landed back on the ground. All The Shadow saw was a fiery green mass approaching him at a dangerous speed, but he knew it would not bode well for him to remain still. His cloak now burnt more than halfway up, The Shadow fled at an equal speed on his white shoes, pursued by Luigi's skidding body.

It was quite a spectacle for the crowd to watch: a blurred black form being chased by a conflagrated green plumber. Around and around the field they zoomed, Luigi leaving a dying trail of green flames in his wake, his stomach stinging from the friction of its occasional contact with the surface. Finally, The Shadow was cornered in a small area near the wall with green fire barricading all possible escape routes.

Luigi's vision was blurred, but his heart rejoiced when he had finally trapped his secretive foe near the wall, and he sped almost blindly toward him. Only it was too late when Luigi realized that his opponent was no longer there; all that remained was The Shadow's burning cloak.

Before Luigi slammed into the wall, unable to control his direction in time, he saw out of the corner of his eye the shape and identity of his conqueror with his distorted vision….

 _Sonic?_

* * *

 **Quarterfinal Match #4: Ganondorf VS. Sonic**

Sonic was full of energy, ready to fight even the toughest of opponents. He was even in the mood to fight Link's dark nemesis, or perhaps a titanic monster or two.

Ganondorf, on the other hand, was still slightly weary from his excessive physical activity during his previous matches. Sonic had been running much more, of course, but endurance running was what the hedgehog lived for. Ganondorf was accustomed to sitting upon Hyrule's throne and mercilessly striking down rebellions now and then—not to constant movement and endless effort.

Sonic, seeing the sweat already glinting on the Gerudo's dark forehead, gained confidence. Without much pause, Sonic charged into battle.

Ganondorf, again wielding his sword, diverted Sonic's approach with its long blade. The hedgehog cried out as the weapon clipped his shoulder, the brief contact cutting deep into his blue fur.

Sonic stopped a safe distance away and winced as he realized he needed a different strategy. He then remembered one of his favorite tricks that almost never failed against ambitious opponents with deadly weapons.

Sonic turned and ran away from Ganondorf toward the walls enclosing the arena. He jumped a few feet high, actually landing sideways on the wall, and began running across the wall, picking up speed with each second. As he traveled round and round the field, he soon became a blue blur to both Ganondorf and the crowd. Even with the stadium lights, Sonic's motions were hard to follow as he went across some sections where the wall was cast in shadow.

Ganondorf laughed, finding himself enjoying this more than he'd thought he would. He could foresee what Sonic was trying to do even though he had never experienced it himself. The speedy opponent would run round and round, hoping to confuse and make the target dizzy, and then catch it off guard with a sudden blow. No doubt the hedgehog also hoped that he would hurl his sword at the wall and leave himself somewhat defenseless. Apparently, what they said about teaching an old dog new tricks was true.

The Gerudo shoved his sword several inches into the clay, and then used his hands to amass a ball of crackling white energy. He chucked one after the other at random spots along the wall, hoping to either hit his elusive opponent or trip him up with the gaps created by his magical attacks.

Inevitably, Sonic found these attacks an unexpected problem. When a certain ball of energy shot toward the spot where he would be a fraction of a second later, Sonic halted, falling back to the arena after losing his speed.

He turned toward the center to see Ganondorf's dark eyes boring into him as if he were daring him to attack. After a few seconds, Ganondorf reach toward the giant sword stuck in the ground. This was Sonic's only chance.

Sonic jumped back onto the wall, this time pushing off of it in his opponent's direction, the momentum giving him immediate speed. At the very moment when the evil king forced the sword out of the ground, Sonic landed a kick at the hilt of the sword, simultaneously smashing Ganondorf's hand and disarming him, sending the sword spinning toward the unfortunate portion of the crowd that was closest.

The sword produced yet another batch of screams from the crowd and finally seared straight through the center of something soft, its contents pouring onto the seats and steps.

The same unlucky Pianta stared wide-eyed at the blade of the large sword which had halted an inch from his wobbly nose, ignoring the fact that his second 30-Coin popcorn bucket had been split open. He sidled sideways away from the sword, then pushed and shoved his way out of the colosseum, muttering something about karma and the Pianta Parlor.

It was at this point when the real fight ensued. Ganondorf's punches were heavier and more deadly, while Sonic's were swifter and lighter. Finally, Sonic jumped onto Ganondorf's chest and pushed away, sending the Gerudo toppling to the ground like a felled Redwood.

Not wanting to allow the evil king to get back up, Sonic Spring Jumped and pounded down upon Ganondorf's chest, cracking at least a couple ribs and knocking the wind out of the groaning Gerudo.

* * *

The Shadow Sirens had had no choice but to leave their companions before they were captured. If they had remained, the Hypno would surely have put them to sleep as it did the others. But still, their consciences weighed upon them as they reappeared a good distance away from the Grande Snifit Hotel, staring back at it and ignoring the nighttime clamor of the city around them. Now that they had separated from the Smash Brothers, they had no clear way of rejoining them without subjecting themselves to the Pokémon's Hypnosis. And even if they waited for the spell to end and returned, their friends would likely already be gone.

For the next few days, they loitered around the alleyways and ghetto districts of Fourside, ensuring that whoever had laid a trap for the Smash Brothers would not catch them as well.

They slept in the shadows and generally fed on recently disposed restaurant food, which Marilyn had proven instrumental in locating and really wouldn't have been that bad if they hadn't just taken it from a dumpster. Had they returned to the hotel a bit later, they would have met with Professor E. Gadd and the rest of the resistance fighters, but of course they had no way of knowing this.

Finally, by the end of the third day, Vivian felt crushed by the thought of abandoning her friends—especially Mario. For a few precious minutes she had been reunited with the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, who she secretly had a deeper liking for, but had banished it from her mind, knowing Mario and Princess Peach were destined to be together. But now that thought had reawakened with his reappearance, and she was not ready to cast the opportunity of his presence aside so easily.

"Sisters, we need to help Mario and the others!"

Beldam, although changed from her evil ways, remained skeptical. "Why? There's nothing in this for us, and I don't see how we _can_ help them if they're already in Master Hand's clutches. And with whatever's left of the Shadow Queen lurking about, these people are surely doomed to fall to Master Hand and his minions. I suggest we hitch the nearest ship to Rogueport—sneak back to the Twilight Woods if we must—and forget any of this ever happened."

"SISTERS!"

Vivian had never raised her voice like this. Ever. It was disturbingly out of character. And that was why Beldam and Marilyn balked before their younger sibling's sudden outburst.

"May I remind you that if it wasn't for Mario, we would all be enslaved to the Shadow Queen at her full power!"

"Guuuuuh—" Marilyn began to point out.

" _SISTERS!"_ Marilyn got the picture, symbolically zipping her mouth and throwing away the key.

"Even if you don't think serving the Shadow Queen would've been that bad, may I also remind you that Master Hand's greed will not be satisfied by This World alone? If we leave Master Hand to conquer the Nintendo mainland, we won't be safe in Rogueport, either! We must help our friends protect This World from a terrible threat! We came here for the Fourside Tournament, and I'm willing to bet that's where we'll find them: Fourside Colosseum. Now let's go see how well they're guarding this place…."

So the Shadow Sirens slunk smoothly and silently (try saying that five times fast) toward the Fourside Colosseum, eventually discovering a spot where they could view the front entrance unseen. Finding it guarded only by two gun-wielding Krushas, they sank into the ground and crept inside.

They arose into the curving hallway, where hundreds of people, creatures, and…things…were milling about, quarreling over concession prices and discussing the matches they'd just seen. The Shadow Sirens sank into the wall and sidled past the crowds until they found the door to the finalists' waiting room (there was a sign indicating that it was so).

"In here," Vivian whispered.

By the time they entered the waiting room, the Quarterfinals had just barely ended. But the trouble was, they were not in the waiting room of Sonic and Diddy Kong, but where the other two remaining finalists resided.

The Shadow Sirens were stunned as they took in the sight of the luxurious waiting room. On one of the velvet sofas near the far end of the chamber, a small black figure rested facing the cushions, most likely a fighter weary from its last battle. But the center of attention was, well, in the center.

The Floormaster turned to face them, and a deep, feminine laugh seemed to echo from every direction.

 _"Beldam…Marilyn…Vivian…my daughters…welcome…."_

The eldest Shadow Siren gritted her teeth, wishing she had never come but at the same time knowing she had needed this. "We may share of your shadowy substance," she said, "but we are no children of yours!"

More unsettling laughter. _"You shall regret refusing twice to share in my power. Master Hand's reckoning draws nigh….The tournament has ensnared the Original 25 just as he predicted….My Creator will soon free me from this temporary hybrid existence and restore me to my full strength….And there is nothing you, Mario, or any hero in This World can do about it!"_

"We'll see about that," Vivian said. At the same time, some of the demon's words had seemed strange to her. _Creator? Hybrid existence?_

All at once, the three sisters combined their magical strength—fire, ice, and thunder—and beamed it into the Shadow Queen.

The Floormaster screamed; the Shadow Sirens took heart and pressed their advantage.

But the screaming transitioned slowly and eerily into mocking laughter. At the same time, the beam of elemental magic was caught in the palm of the Shadow Queen's hand, and she pressed against the beam toward her attackers, absorbing every drop of power like a sponge. She reached the sisters and released a pulse that contained all the energy she had absorbed, blasting the Shadow Sirens back like leaves in the wind.

The figure on the couch stirred, glanced briefly at the proceedings, then returned to its rest, knowing it had only an hour or so before taking to the field again.

The Shadow Queen laughed as the drained Shadow Sirens cowered before her.

" _I admire your bravery…but you should not have come here…and now I will show you why…."_

With that, the Floormaster descended and engulfed the Shadow Sirens, leaving nothing behind.

* * *

 **Semifinal Match #1: The Shadow Queen VS. Diddy Kong**

The crowd had more influence on this match than any other. Most of the congregation was still cheering for Diddy, but no one could see after all the other failed attempts to defeat the Shadow Queen how Diddy Kong could possibly pull off a victory in this intense situation. But there was one Diddy fan among the crowd who more than cheered for Diddy; she was his girlfriend.

As she made her way to the colosseum earlier that evening, Dixie had found in one of the gutters a strange metal disk, which she soon recognized as a Cloaking Device such as she had seen in the Smash Tournaments of old. She had taken the device with her to the colosseum, not particularly knowing why. But now she realized what this Cloaking Device was meant to be used for.

"Diddy! Here!" Diddy Kong looked up and just made out Dixie high in the stands, shouting and waving, but also pointing at something falling through the air toward him. As soon as he recognized the Cloaking Device, he jumped and snatched it as it fell, then activated it right before the match began. His body faded into nothing more than a slight distortion in the air.

The crowd cheered as they saw Diddy's recent acquisition, and the purple hand rose from the ground only to find nothing to attack. She pivoted left and right, searching for him in vain.

Diddy began by provoking the hand with quick jabs and kicks, but they seemed to have no effect and put him at great risk of being discovered with the Floormaster lashing out wildly in the direction it had been attacked from.

So Diddy reverted to using his last ten orange grenades in quick succession. Each exploded upon contact with the hand, making the Shadow Queen flinch and pull back in obvious discomfort.

But the tenth orange was caught by the hand in midair and hurled back at the spot where Diddy was still crouching after launching the grenades. Diddy cried out in agony as the orange detonated and sent him soaring (still almost invisibly) into the wall. He slid onto the ground and remained motionless.

"Diddy, get up!" Dixie called, worry etched on her face.

"The Shadow Queen―" Rawk Hawk began, but at that moment the flickering primate leaped to his feet and charged at the unsuspecting purple hand. Without his jetpack and guitar (the guitar was broken along with his jetpack in Diddy's previous match), and no peanuts or orange grenades remaining, Diddy really had no choice other than to attack the Shadow Queen directly. She had to have a weak spot. She just had to.

But Diddy was not the one destined to find it. As Diddy did a cartwheel and jumped over the hand to do a ground pound, the Shadow Queen noticed the distortion in the air above her and caught him mid-leap.

Diddy, hearing what the Shadow Queen had done to Paula, expected to be dragged belowground and off to some dark abyss. But instead, the hand just slammed the chimp hard onto the ground, leaving Sonic as the last remaining hope.

* * *

 **Semifinal Match #2: The Shadow VS. Sonic**

Sonic was very disconcerted by his lack of friends still in the tournament. Both of his remaining opponents had the word Shadow in the name, which couldn't possibly be a good thing. He hoped to win this tournament and gain the weapon that could defeat Master Hand. Now that he was alone in this endeavor, he would have to rely on his own speed, endurance, and wit to leave the colosseum victorious.

But nothing could prepare him for the shock he experienced when he entered the arena and saw his opponent.

The Shadow. His cloak hade been destroyed, so nothing shielded his true identity from the eyes of Sonic and the crowd. Luigi had seen the silhouette of Sonic as his defeat was nigh, but in reality, he was, of course, not Sonic. His real name was not _The_ Shadow. It was simply Shadow.

Shadow, Sonic's strong but unstable friend. He had the exact outline of Sonic and almost the same appearance except for black fur with red streaks and white boots. His eyes were alight with a fiery spark that signaled intense trials and suffering, as well as a deep energy that he kept at bay within himself. Sonic, however, did not notice this spark at first.

Sonic had believed him to still be stuck in the Microsoft World, but evidently he had been among the escapees who had come to the Nintendo World after he had himself. He had been here the entire time, knowing Sonic for who he was, but never revealing himself to his friend. Why would he conceal himself like this?

Sonic had no idea, of course, that The Shadow—now known to be Shadow—was in cahoots with Master Hand, and still planned to help carry out Master Hand's scheme.

"Shadow! What are you doing here? How long has it been since you escaped the Microsoft World? Why have you remained in hiding for so long? It's so good to see you!" Even though they were supposed to be fighting, Sonic couldn't help but smile as he recognized his old friend.

Shadow, however, retained an impassive frown, and walked toward Sonic until they were within reasonable talking distance. He folded his arms.

"Sonic. I must admit I didn't expect you to come here; I suppose the allure of the fake grand prize must have been too strong for you to resist."

Sonic blinked in astonishment. " _Fake?_ You mean there's no weapon of great power to be given to the winner?"

Shadow's expression remained emotionless. "Correct. It was a rumor started to lure Smashers into the tournament. Same with the 1,000 Coin reward, as it happens."

"But you knew all this? What's going on, Shadow?"

And for the first time, a small, sad smile appeared on Shadow's face "Why, I thought you would have guessed the truth by now, Sonic."

At this, the two hedgehogs began circling around each other. The mood became a notch less friendly. "What truth?"

The crowd patiently watched Sonic and Shadow talk to each other; the few who could hear what was being said were listening with rapt attention.

"I, along with the entire staff of this tournament, and among many others, serve the mighty Master Hand. He sent us to bring as many of the Original 25 into the tournament as possible and to add them to his collection. Why he wishes to collect them as trophies, I know not…but there it is."

This bite of information was almost too much for Sonic to swallow. "What? Shadow, you must be joking! Master Hand plans to conquer the entire Nintendo World and subject it to his evil forces. Tell me you're just getting me psyched up for the fight."

But Shadow's sad smile did not waver. "I'm afraid it is true, Sonic. You see, while some of Master Hand's methods may be…questionable…his ideas on world unity are ingenious. Master Hand's victory is inevitable; his forces amount to more than you can imagine. And with his army in control, the Sony and Microsoft Worlds would soon become part of his rule. Things could be like days of old, in the sense that we could once again travel freely between worlds. Sonic. Knuckles and Tails…and Amy…came partway with me when I escaped the Microsoft World, but they were overwhelmed by Microsoft's forces. Once Master Hand is our leader, we can be with all of our friends from the old days and never fear Microsoft's tyranny again. To me, that is worth much more than a few Nintendonian acquaintances. Join me, Sonic…and with Master Hand's power on our side, we will take back what is ours!"

Shadow's smile was now friendlier, bringing memories to the brain behind Sonic's watering eyes of countless adventures and misadventures with his friends. For one small, fleeting moment he considered what it would be like to let Master Hand take over and be with all of his old friends again. _We could once again travel freely between worlds._ But Sonic's moral center was stronger than his desires, and he knew he could not accept this plan.

"Shadow, what's happened to you? I know you have good intentions, but how could you be so selfish? You're wrong. I think deep down you know that Master Hand could not be trusted to give us that much freedom if he were in control. You've been corrupted by greed and false hope. You must leave these ideas behind and help me in our quest to _defeat_ Master Hand—not support him."

At Sonic's words, Shadow's smile immediately changed into a frown, his eyes now blazing with contempt. "So. You refuse. That is that, then." He pounced forward and kicked Sonic in the gut, sending him at least a dozen feet back.

Sonic stood up, tears streaming down his face. He did not want to fight Shadow anymore. But with the knowledge he now had, he was obliged to do what must be done.

And so the battle of the heroes commenced. The hedgehogs were equally matched. Both moved with great speed and agility. Both took many hits in many areas.

Shadow caught Sonic off guard with his Chaos Control, which created a zone of shimmering red sluggishness. He drove his fist into Sonic's chest, then struck him repeatedly from above and below until the magic dissipated.

Sonic, driven by mixed despair and determination, rolled faster than he ever had, catching Shadow from behind and smashing him into the arena wall. He held Shadow there for several seconds, the spinning sphere of his body battering the traitor continuously, not even giving him space to breath.

He finally relented. Shadow collapsed and did not move again. Yet to Sonic, this had been no victory.

* * *

"Gruh…no…Rippo…not again!"

Bowser opened his eyes to pure whiteness. He took one look at where he was and groaned.

 _I lost. Again._

On the positive side, even though he'd just been pulverized by an insane concentration of Power Plus badges, his body felt heavenly, as if it had never been injured at all. It was almost too good to be true. But that didn't stop him from brooding over his injured pride.

His next thought was that he hoped whoever faced Chet Rippo next beat the tar out of him. That little creep deserved so much more than the typical beating….

After coming to terms with his humiliating loss, it then occurred to Bowser that this infirmary was full of losers who he might be able to intimidate in order to cheer himself up.

And who should he find in the next bed over but…Chet Rippo himself! The charlatan was almost unrecognizable with bandages nearly covering his entire body, but the duck bill and the red designs around his closed eyes were unmistakable.

Bowser's first instinct was to rejoice, but then he realized what this implied.

"Hey. You!"

One of the Toad nurses reluctantly heeded Bowser's call and came over.

"Can I do anything for you, sir? Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. Whatever. How long have I been here?"

"Oh, we received special instructions to give you plenty of time to rest," she said. "And it looks like that's done the trick and then some. With the sedatives we used, you've been here…let's see…about three days."

"WHAAAAT?!"

Bowser jumped out of his bed, unintentionally tipping it over in the process. Other patients and medical staff stopped and stared at him as he just barely restrained the urge to wring the Toad's little neck.

"I've missed the whole tournament!" he bellowed. "What kind of scam establishment is this? I could've been good to go in a couple hours!"

The nurse, terrified, squeaked out her response. "I'm sorry, sir, but we're under strict orders to keep you in bed until you've been cleared to leave. Please have a seat."

The Koopa King had almost calmed down, but then he saw two things that pushed him off the deep end.

First, he saw his son, Bowser Jr., comatose next to Paula.

"What happened to my kid?" he demanded.

The Toad gulped. "Well…we don't know exactly. The Shadow Queen pulled him underground and sort of coughed him out like that—"

"The Shadow Queen?" Surely he must have been dreaming. After all, who wakes up in a hospital after being manipulatively sedated for three days, remembers he was crushed by one of the most pathetic creatures in the universe, then finds his son throttled by a dead supervillain? The only thing that could make this any more surreal would be if the wall began opening into a secret laboratory or something.

That was probably a bad time for Waluigi, oblivious to Bowser's emotional state, to start wheeling Smashers into the room with the trophy machine.

Bowser's mouth gaped open in disbelief as Waluigi caught his eye and froze, poorly concealed guilt in his contrived smile. He was wheeling the bed with an unconscious Yoshi into the room, and lined up in a row beside the hidden door were DK, Popo, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Mr. Game & Watch, Young Link, and Roy. A couple of Krushas were waiting to assist in the operation.

Even in his angered state, Bowser recalled Master Hand's express interest in the Original 25 as explained by The Shadow in the Krystal Koconut and, later, by Professor E. Gadd at the hotel. He had no clue what would happen to the Smashers in that room, but his instinct told him it wouldn't be good and there was one solid way to fix that problem.

The stream of fire from his mouth cleared the infirmary of the staff and able-bodied patients quite effectively. That left only Waluigi and his reptilian thugs. He relished the screams of Toads amidst the panic; it was something he missed and hadn't been able to experience for a good while.

The Krushas came at him with their orange guns, but Bowser, now in full-on rage mode, blocked the explosive bullets with one of the beds and thrust it at them. He followed close behind it, pushing the Krushas into the wall and smashing their heads against it. That should do the trick.

He looked around Yoshi's bed for Waluigi, but the cowardly Mario-wannabe was nowhere to be seen. Since the door to the strange machine had now closed and blended invisibly with the wall, Waluigi must have barricaded himself inside. Whatever.

Bowser was about to leave when the sight of his six fellow Smashers gave him pause. He wasn't friends with any of these individuals— Yoshi especially—by any stretch of the imagination, but right now, all he knew was that he wanted those in charge of this tournament, those who had tried to turn him into some Frankenstein experiment, those who were Master Hand's hirelings, to suffer. And at the moment, that made these Smashers useful to him.

"Wake up!" he roared, upending each bed and shaking each of the sedated Smashers from their artificial slumber. Yoshi blinked in bewilderment, at first thinking Bowser was attacking him, but soon understanding that the Koopa King had bigger fish to fry. He helped Roy to his feet (though he had also been sedated for days, Roy's broken leg seemed to have miraculously healed in the process), and the two of them went to work assisting the remaining heroes in reorienting themselves to the conscious world. Soon, along with DK, Popo, G.W., Young Link, Pichu, and Jigglypuff, they were all on their feet and wide awake, though still very confused about what was going on. Bowser, meanwhile, tried to shake his son awake, but Junior wouldn't budge, so he would have to leave him there for now until he could come back.

"Here's the cheese, heroes," Bowser barked like some kind of over-the-top military officer. "This tournament? It's a scam. All of it. If I hadn't woken up when I did, we'd all be strapped in their lab being probed and who-knows-what-else. So we're gonna put a stop to it. Now. Wario and Waluigi and all those Krushas—-they'll get what's coming to them. But I'm starting with that glitzy wrestler punk Rawk Hawk and working my way from there, and if you know what's good for you, you'll do the same."

He stormed out of the infirmary without a backward glance. Yoshi and the others exchanged glances; this was not the kind of teamwork any of them were used to, but under the circumstances, working with a villain might actually be the right thing to do.

* * *

The city hall was in ruins. Buildings were burning in the starless night. People and creatures were screaming and fleeing. Chaos reigned throughout the northern regions of Fourside.

Crazy Hand's army surged into the city, destroying anything and everything in its way. Some desperate citizens were attempting to fend off the Wire Frames, but it was hopeless. With Crazy Hand at the lead, the meager resistance was swept aside like dust off a table. A few cowering people noticed that the army was making a direct course for Fourside Colosseum. But regardless of where they were going, everything in the insurgents' course was left ravaged and aflame.

Professor Frankly's library was included in the attack. The professor in question was currently taking cover in his basement with Goombario, Goombella, and a handful of other refugees. But frankly, Frankly could not figure out why the army was attacking now—while the tournament was still in progress.

The professor temporarily gave up trying to figure out Master Hand's motives and turned his mind to an equally interesting matter.

For years, Wire Frames had been known to only assume simple male and female forms. But now they came with a variety of other attributes: wings, claws, horns, spikes, tails, enlarged muscles, and other physical characteristics. They were fighting in new ways as well: flying, slashing, tail-whipping, ramming, and so on. It was as if the two original types of frames had had extra pieces added onto them like weaponized Barbie accessories.

Frankly sighed, watching as his two assistants huddled together, fear evident in their expressions. They were safe for now, but it was only a matter of time before Crazy Hand had all of Fourside razed to the ground.

He could only hope the Smash Brothers would come through—for all their sakes.

* * *

 **Championship Match: The Shadow Queen VS. Sonic**

"And now for the epic match you've all been waiting for; the Fourside Tournament Championship Battle!" Rawk Hawk's boundless energy was extremely effective in arousing emotion among the audience; he had narrated every match like it was the most important one, and now that the most important match had actually come, his dramatic voice and body language did not disappoint. "We have the mistress of darkness; the fiercest of Floormasters; the harbinger of horror; the slippery Mephistopheles herself; the Shadow Queen—against the mighty blue blur; the pinball of pain; the heroic hedgehog; the uncatchable Sonic! Get ready to RAAAAAWWWWK!"

The audience applauded, although after witnessing all the other failed attempts to defeat the Shadow Queen, most did not hold out much hope for Sonic despite his outstanding performance so far. In fact, some of the spectators were already leaving the colosseum, assuming the winner to be all but decided. Oh, how they would wish they hadn't done this later.

Sonic had no idea how he would face this final opponent. He was already very tired from all of his previous battles—especially the one with Shadow, from which he had been cut, scratched, bruised, and had most of his energy sapped away.

Sonic looked at the crowd, searching for a source of hope and motivation. He recognized only the petite figure of Professor E. Gadd, who sat near the front and gave him a thumbs up with a toothy grin. Sonic cheered up a little. Perhaps it would not be so bad. Sure, he would lose painfully to the frightening purple hand in front of him, but at least he could feel assured that the Smash Brothers would ensure he and the other competitors made it out all right, and that they would expose whatever sinister plot Master Hand had hidden within this tournament. It was at this point, when the match began, the crowd unenthusiastically cheering for Sonic, the Shadow Queen curling her fingers almost mockingly, that two fateful things happened.

First, Bowser came out on the top box, taking down the security Krushas as he went (the other eight were occupied with additional security that had flooded into the hall downstairs).

Rawk Hawk, with all his showcase of toughness, felt himself shrink before King Bowser. He made as if to go in for a fight, then turned on his heels and dived off the platform with a girlish squeal. He climbed to his feet, ignoring the squashed Goomba he'd landed on, and fled from the colosseum, never to return—even for his paycheck.

Second, Sonic's brain began to think logically enough to wonder what on earth the monstrosity known as the Shadow Queen was. Since Sonic had been told the story of the Shadow Queen's defeat in some depth by Luigi, he knew there was no way the old demon could have just sprung back into existence. She had avoided death from age by remaining in pure energy form, but when something was destroyed, it was destroyed. So what was the truth of this "Shadow Queen"? Then a crazy though came to Sonic.

Perhaps the only way to find out was to ask her himself.

So crazy it just might work.

Sonic fixed the Floormaster with the bravest face he could muster. "So what are you? I know you're not really the Shadow Queen. Tell me the truth!" Sonic glared at the purple hand, and the purple hand seemed to glare back (as far as anyone could tell).

 _"You are not worthy of knowing the secrets of my masters, hedgehog."_

The deep, feminine voice echoed throughout the stadium.

Sonic was about to give up, but then he noticed the abnormality of the Shadow Queen's only words.

"Tell me," Sonic said, regaining some strength. "What do you mean by 'masters'? How can you have more than one master?"

For the first time, the Shadow Queen paused—as if she herself had never considered the logic behind her words. Her voice came again, but now it was a lot less nebulous, even sincere.

 _"The master I serve directly has a master himself. By serving my master, truly I serve all of his masters, do I not? Make no mistake, mortal—I possess the power to rule many kingdoms and to destroy them again thrice over. But no one can truly have no master, for even if you do not serve another, you become your own master. And that is why I shall crush you and your friends—so that my power will be restored, and then I will become the master of all!"_

The Shadow Queen's words echoed through Sonic's mind, as if there were some deeper meaning in them that he had yet to understand. _If you do not serve another, you become your own master._

"Even so, no one can serve two masters equally," Sonic said quietly. But then he realized they were getting off topic. "So, 'Shadow Queen,' who is this master you serve directly?"

The purple hand seemed to consider whether her opponent deserved an answer.

 _"Very well; since you fought a long way to make it here, and you will soon fall victim to my masters' plan in any case, I shall tell you the name of the one I serve primarily. His name…is Professor U. Reeka."_

Sonic was shocked by this, for he had been almost sure that the Shadow Queen would say Master Hand. And although he had never heard of this person, the name reminded him of another professor with a title that had a similar effect. But this still did not satisfy Sonic.

"You still haven't answered my first question. What are you, since you're neither the Shadow Queen nor a simple Floormaster?"

The Shadow Queen seemed to reply more willingly now that she had already spilled the beans of her master's identity _. "I am both of the beings you mentioned, in a sense. Some time ago, my master captured a Floormaster, and he later fused it with a small portion of my shredded essence. He created me and made me an instrument in accomplishing his and Master Hand's desires. In return, he has promised to revive me in all my former glory once his will is done.""_

The purple hand waited for Sonic to respond, but he did not say anything, as engorged with information as he was. From what he had learned, though, he knew that if this experiment had had a choice, she would not have chosen this fate for herself. So the Shadow Queen spoke again.

 _"But that is quite enough. Now I shall destroy you and thereby help bring to pass the next step of Master Hand's ultimate plan. Farewell, Sonic the Hedgehog…."_

The purple arm, extending from its pool of liquid matter, prepared to lunge forward. Sonic prepared to dodge her attack. But at that moment, something happened that no one could have predicted.

From the announcer's box, Bowser's patience failed him. He could not stand to watch the last respectable face in the tournament be defeated by the loathsome Shadow Queen, whom he'd hated enough even to team up with Mario. He gave a mighty roar and cast himself all the way down to the arena. The audience cried in alarm at the mighty Koopa's sudden move. Both Sonic and the Shadow Queen looked up in surprise at Bowser's falling figure.

Bowser had intended to land on the purple hand at all costs. But he fell just a few feet short, shaking the whole stadium as he landed next to Sonic.

This happened to be a very good thing. For the flip panel Wario had used to cheat, bringing up his motorcycle, happened to be directly beneath the Shadow Queen at that moment.

A simple ground pound would have been enough to make the flip panel come up a few feet, but with the force of Bowser's hulking mass, the flip panel, along with the purple hand, was sent flying high into the air.

Due to some flaw in Professor U. Reeka's experimenting, the purple circle at the base of the Shadow Queen's arm seemed to stick to the flap like a suction cup. But at the height of the purple hand's journey, the flip panel dislodged itself from the Shadow Queen's form, leaving her groundless as she crashed back down.

This was a moment of revelation. Where the flip panel had been sticking to the Shadow Queen's circular underside was a circle of shiny whiteness. And as most heroes (and some villains) who fought bosses knew, the shiny white areas usually signified the weak point.

Bowser realized this, and before the pancake-flipped arm could attempt to lift itself upright, he ejected a thick stream of fire toward the white underside.

The Shadow Queen screamed in agony like a melting witch, the hand writhing on the ground. This seemed to confirm Bowser's assumption. Forgetting the rules against killing (although he had already disregarded the rules in any case), Bowser then jumped forward and slashed the white spot with his ruthless claw.

Sonic, Bowser, and the crowd watched wide-eyed as Professor U. Reeka's creation shattered into thousands of purple shards like a document in a shredder. The scattered pieces vanished into the air, signifying the Shadow Queen's demise.

Bowser and Sonic looked at each other and exchanged triumphant smiles, although both were weary.

The whole crowd was unsure what to do. Should they cheer at the Shadow Queen's defeat, or boo angrily at Bowser for interfering, or do something else? It didn't matter in any case because before they could decide, another much more pressing interference occurred.


	16. Chapter 13: Shadows and Stars—Part II

Chapter 13: Shadows and Stars—Part 2

* * *

It started with the storm. Even though it was a starless and moonless night, the lights from the stadium revealed angry purple clouds sweeping across the black sky, tingeing it a dark violet hue. They moved incredibly fast, soon catching the attention of the confused crowd. In a matter of seconds, the sky overhead was completely covered with the restless clouds, and then it began to rain.

This rain wouldn't have been more than a nuisance if it weren't a sickly purple color and extremely acidic. In fact, it was so acidic that in approximately thirty seconds the ring-shaped cover over the stands had been breached by the acid rain's disintegrating downpour. The rain was pounding heavily against all surfaces, gradually corroding everything within its reach.

The third element of the storm was the thunder and lightning. This part, at least, was not purple, consisting of normal white flashes. But the buildings of Fourside City were very tall in general, and the raging lightning almost immediately caused several buildings throughout the city to catch fire. The booming thunder simply added to the confusion.

Naturally, the audience reacted by panicking, screaming, and fleeing from the colosseum, along with everyone else inside who noticed or was able. Luckily, the majority of the crowd had been prepared with umbrellas, hats, or some other kind of cover, so despite their distressing situation, they could consider themselves relatively safe from the acid rain if they hurried to their homes.

Sonic and Bowser, exposed to the rain in the center of the field, instinctively felt that this was no natural weather and that it would be followed by something much worse. So even though the acid rain stung on their bodies, they stayed where they were on the arena to see what would happen next. The other Smashers, who had followed Bowser until being sidetracked by a horde of Krushas, were nowhere to be seen.

If the terror had ended here, there might have been a next-to-zero casualty rate, and life might have resumed normally the next day. But the storm, unfortunately, was only a prelude to the arrival of one of the Nintendo World's greatest enemies.

Over the disintegrated cover, a familiar elephant-sized hand hovered into view. Crazy Hand was, as usual, laughing maniacally and constantly curling his fingers in and out. These attributes, along with the fact that he was a left rather than a right hand, distinguished him from his counterpart, Master Hand.

Crazy Hand seemed unaffected by the acid rain. Once he was out in the open, he noticed the two individuals on the arena below and moved down toward them like a black widow toward its prey. He said nothing, but pointed his index finger at the field. A beam of blue light shot down at them.

Sonic and Bowser dived away, but it was not necessary since they did not appear to be Crazy Hand's target. They watched as the beam began to trace some kind of large polygonal pattern around the field, sometimes just a curved line, sometimes a steep zigzagging pattern.

"We need to get out of here," Bowser growled. "Whatever Crazy Hand's doing, it can't be good." But Sonic was still staring at Crazy Hand, mesmerized, his expression almost trance-like.

"Do you think Crazy Hand serves Master Hand or works alongside him?" Sonic was so calm that you would think they were just watching a movie at the theater.

"Sonic, now is not the time for random speculation!" Bowser anxiously watched the progress of the laser. "We've gotta go to the infirmary and―"

But Crazy Hand had now finished drawing his blackened pattern around the field, and Bowser finally realized what that pattern was.

A hand.

All of the clay within the hand shape began to glow a dangerous white.

"Sonic!"

Sonic snapped out of his trance and suddenly realized the danger they were in. He saw the glowing ground, growing brighter and brighter, and taking in the wide perimeter of the traced hand, he knew it was time to stop daydreaming.

He perceived that Bowser would be too slow to make it out in time and came to a decision.

"Save Shadow and the others," he shouted to Bowser as he took a few steps back. "Save the Nintendo World. Don't let Master Hand win!"

Bowser was confused. "What? What are you doing? No…WAIT!"

Sonic ran forward and kicked Bowser's vulnerable underside like a battering ram, hurling the giant Koopa just outside the white outline that covered most of the arena. Bowser landed roughly on his belly. He scrambled back up and turned around. Sonic was beginning to run toward him, but the white glow grew blindingly bright, ending with a colossal white flash when Sonic was just a few yards away, his hand outstretched.

Bowser closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact of Sonic's body, but it did not come. He opened his eyes. The flash had subsided. The storm still raged around him. Crazy Hand was gone. Sonic was exactly where he had been when the flash occurred. But he was standing on an orange disk with the Smash Tournament symbol etched onto it.

* * *

Even Wario and Waluigi had fled after Crazy Hand's appearance, fearing for their own welfare. This had not been part of the plan; their shady employer had just said that they were to keep people out of the infirmary at all costs and follow Master Hand's instructions for transforming competitors into trophies. He had mentioned nothing about the city being attacked by Crazy Hand at the end.

But too greedy to leave their wealth behind, they rushed to Wario Tower and up the stairs to their penthouse on the top floor.

Waluigi, who was always faster than Wario, shoved his key into the door, panting, and wrenched the door open. They tumbled inside and Wario slammed their door shut behind them, locking it. Through their window they could see buildings burning and Wire Frames mobbing through the city streets and leaping across rooftops, some carrying torches.

Yet their attention wasn't focused on the chaos outside, but on the two mustachioed intruders in their room.

At first they thought it was Mario and Luigi. The mustaches, the overalls, the caps with symbols on them: it was all there. But everything else was completely different.

One of them was about seven feet tall, wore orange overalls, and sported a blue shirt and cap with the letters M and U intersecting like the initials of a football team. His body was beefy like Wario's, but much more muscular. His face was thinner than Wario's and thicker than Waluigi's, and he had an extremely thin, jagged mustache, which was about as thick as a wire.

The other figure, by contrast, was the same height as Mario, but almost as thin as Waluigi. He wore yellow overalls and a brown shirt and cap with the letter L rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise. His face was fairly similar to Mario's. However, his mustache was thick in the middle and thinner at the ends, which both curled inward and made him appear like a fancy Italian chef.

Both of them were staring back at Wario and Waluigi, arms folded, the tall one with a wild, animalistic expression, and the other with a calm, cheerful smile. The shorter one spoke first, his voice the same pitch as Mario's but with a rather pretentious British accent.

"Dear me, what have we here? Two greedy cowards, abandoning their city, but unwilling to abandon their shiny riches." He spoke like an English gentleman having a riveting discussion over tea and crumpets. "What a night, what a night, I tell you! Such rash people in this city, I must say. Daring enough to oppose Crazy Hand, and all for naught! Indeed, a little manners under his control would do these folks some good, don't you think?"

Wario was so shocked by such a random newcomer that all he could do was stammer, "Who…w-who are you?"

The fancy mustachioed intruder spoke again. "Oh! My apologies, Master Wario, my good sir!" He tipped his brown hat in a mocking gesture. "My companion and I seem to have forgotten our own manners! I am Lario, and my associate here is Mauluigi. We have entered This World but recently, and have sided with the stronger side. From what we've heard, you and Master Waluigi are also in the service of our great leader, Master Hand."

At this, Wario and Waluigi relaxed, hearing that they seemed to be on the same side.

"Unfortunately," Lario continued, "it seems that Master Hand is no longer in need of your services. So he has sent us, Mauluigi and me, to replace you."

At this, Wario and Waluigi tensed up and began to sidle toward the locked door, but one bear-like growl from Mauluigi brought them swiftly back to their original positions.

Lario cleared his throat. "But cheer up, lads! There is some good news! Master Hand has decided you are worthy of his grand collection, and has also sent us to make you part of it."

Waluigi gulped. "C-collection?"

Lario nodded and smiled even wider. "Correct! Now this shouldn't hurt a bit…" he nodded to Mauluigi, who took out a remote with a big red button and pressed it.

Wario and Waluigi cried out and looked at the shining outlines below their feet, both the shapes of hands. As the white flash engulfed them, they wondered what would become of their money.

* * *

In the dungeon, the storm could be heard and the walls of their prison had begun to shake. Link couldn't tell whether it was all in his mind as a result of the muffled thunderclaps or if there was an actual earthquake threatening to cave them in.

He and the other Smash Brothers were beginning to fear that they would be smothered to death by falling rocks and stalactites when a loud click sounded from the steel door.

Link reached to draw his sword, but of course found nothing there as the door crashed inward, almost blinding them all with the brightness of the infirmary beyond. A silhouette stood in the entrance, its head feathers converging into a point at the top.

"What a dump," Falco said, holstering his blaster, which he had used to break the hinges and kick down the heavy door.

"You came back," Link said as he, Zelda, Nana, Mario, Ness, and Impa converged on the open exit.

Falco seemed to brush it off like he'd just come out of boredom. "Tch. Turns out there's not much to do in Fourside when everyone and their dog's at this tournament. But looks like it's a good thing I decided to drop by. We should probably blow this trash heap, by the way."

As the Smash Brothers filed out into the infirmary, Link had to blink a number of times before his eyes adjusted to the light. He couldn't believe this was happening; just when he had been about to give up hope of ever seeing the light of day again—let alone saving Zelda from the same fate—Falco had come to their rescue. He was used to being the rescuer, so being on the other side felt very strange.

"What's happening up there?" Impa asked. "Are we beneath the colosseum? Is the tournament still going?"

"Look, lady," Falco said with his usual disregard for authority. "I just got here. All I know is this crazy storm started up, and then thousands of people came pouring out of this place, and a little after, Crazy Hand himself flew into the arena. Even if that hadn't been motivation enough for me to go inside, next thing I knew there were Wire Frames crawling out of the sewers like a colony of red ants out of a disturbed anthill. These things looked different, too—they had horns and wings and things. Kinda disturbing. Everyone in the city is either fighting on the streets or running for their lives."

Impa stared at the wall, mulling this information over. "We must join in the fight. If Crazy Hand is at the head of this attack, that can only mean one thing: Master Hand wants Fourside leveled to the ground."

"Urgh…not if I have anything to say about it."

Ganondorf stood up from his bed, even more disoriented than the recently released prisoners. Beside him, the other finalists—Kirby, Fox, Diddy, and Luigi—stirred as well, their current dose of sedative finally wearing off.

Link instinctively moved in front of Zelda. "What are you doing here?"

Ganondorf laughed. "Relax, kid. I can kill you and Zelda later. Right now I have more important people to hunt down." He clenched his fists and glared at the ceiling. "I've seen what happens if Master Hand gets his way…and no one destroys This World without my permission."

Luigi, Diddy, and Kirby, while keeping their distance from the villain, nodded in agreement.

"Mario!"

At the sight of his brother, Luigi ran forward and wrapped his arms around him, laughing.

"Luigi. Thanks for a-coming for me."

The man in green paused. "Where's the princess?"

Mario's expression grew somber. "We'll get her a-back."

"Popo!"

"Nana!"

These two names were uttered simultaneously as the Ice Climber twins had found each other at last.

"Falco!"

Fox stepped up to Falco and gave him a brotherly embrace without the bird's consent. Falco stood awkwardly without returning the hug, then gently pushed him away.

"You're not goin' soft on me, are ya?"

"I'm just glad you're ok. Apparently Master Hand's turning everyone from the Smash Tournaments into trophies as part of some kind of psychotic collection."

"Yeah, well, I thought I could run away from all that. Turns out I can't, so looks like we'll be showin' those gloves a thing or two together."

"Hey, you guys!"

That cued the entrance of thirteen more Smash Brothers from the other end of the room that led upstairs. Bowser, Tiny, Lanky, Chunky, Dixie, Paula, Jeff, Poo, Prince Peasley, Professor E. Gadd, Red, Peppy, and Slippy joined the throng, the room now filled to the brim. The latter had been the one who had spoken.

More joyful reunions followed—the Star Fox team reuniting; Peasley and Gadd reacquainting with the Mario Brothers; the Kong family huddling together; Red gathering up his Pokémon in his arms; and the three children from Earth happy to find Ness in one piece. Even King Dedede and Meta Knight seemed pleased to see Kirby (although judging from Dedede's mischievous expression, for very different reasons).

Pac-man and Bomberman found the prisoners' weapons in a cabinet in the corner and busied themselves returning equipment with the help of Pit, Orca, the Rito Postman, Mumbo, Humba, and Banjo.

With the Smash Brothers now gathered in one united body, Impa stood atop one of the beds, and after Darunia's bellow had silenced everyone, she addressed them.

"Heroes, villains, or whoever you may be—we are all here because we share a common enemy. At this very moment, Crazy Hand is massacring our city. The Nintendo World desperately needs our help. They need the help of the Smash Brothers. So let us give it to them!"

* * *

The night raged on. With the most of the city in ruins, the majority of Crazy Hand's army was focusing on the area around Fourside Colosseum, where there was considerable resistance. Wire Frames crowded through the city streets, surrounding those who were openly fighting them.

Bowser sent streams of flames through rows of Wire Frames. A nasty-looking male Frame with a spike-studded tail crept up on him, but before it could rake the Koopa with its claws, a small yellow figure hurled itself off a single-story building and smashed the Frame with his head, electricity sparking from its cheeks.

Pichu hopped onto Bowser's head and peered upside down at his face. Normally, Bowser would have flung off anything and anyone landing on his head, but realizing the Pokémon had just saved his tail, he grinned and returned to the fight, now with him attacking the front and Pichu covering the Frames behind him with Thunderbolts.

Popo and Nana, reunited at last, froze enemy after enemy and then smashed them to pieces with their hammers.

Fox and Falco had made their way into a pub and were facing off with the Metal Ice Climbers, completely mutilating the interior, but for a good cause.

The storm of purple clouds, lightning, and acid rain continued to add to the chaos and destroy some of Fourside City's prominent office buildings. Not a single star shone in the sky, so the only sources of light were the moon and the fires. Most of the citizens who were unable to defend themselves had evacuated at this point, but Crazy Hand soared over the scene, laughing maniacally and firing missiles, laser beams, and purple bombs into the battlefield.

As time passed, Crazy Hand's army pushed from all sides, forcing most of the fighters into a large four-way intersection.

Back in the pub, Metal Nana had been melted via blaster, but Fox was knocked unconscious, leaving the fight between Falco and Metal Popo.

Most were unpleasantly surprised by the unique appearances of the Wire Frames, with all of the added features and fighting styles that were previously not present. This made it harder for them to fight each one, for with different styles came different weaknesses.

The hundred-odd Smash Brothers in the center were making a valiant stand, but no matter how many Wire Frames they destroyed, a seemingly endless supply of them poured out from around the corners.

Link used every arrow he possessed to fend the Wire Frames off, occasionally knocking over a line with his boomerang and slicing them apart while they were down.

Meta Knight flew overhead, slicing winged Frames with his golden blade, Galaxia.

Banjo and Kazooie worked as a fearful team, firing dozens of eggs that exploded, froze, or burned, with Impa brandishing a Ray Gun in each hand close behind.

Pit Icarus flew high above, letting loose a volley of arrows. But at one point, a vindictive bolt of lightning struck his right wing, and the fallen angel crashed onto a roof.

Professor E. Gadd was perhaps having the most fun during the battle, hiding in a dumpster down a remote alley and controlling a personalized robot with the appearance of himself, testing out its zapper, flamethrower, karate chop, bulldozer, and other such capabilities.

Out from the colosseum entrance and all the way from Wario Tower poured a wave of new recruits: two groups of tournament participants who had just awoken from the infirmary or decided to lend a hand in the battle. The three members of Team Star Wolf, Nabooru, Chef Kawasaki, Sword Knight and Blade knight, Red's sister April, Lance the Dragon Master, Ike, Gandrayda, Sylux, Little Mac, and even the turtle-faced Pico joined the fight, along with a number of other concerned Fourside residents of various species.

But even with these reinforcements and with Falco having disposed of Metal Popo, things were looking bleak. The night was now at its deepest. Fallen Wire Frame bodies and a few freedom fighters were heaping around the Smash Brothers' circle. Crazy Hand's army was like a relentless purple blizzard, showing no sign of stopping or retreating.

A second front had broken out near Wario Tower where several of the former competitors had joined the fight. Link found himself fighting here beside several of his fellow Hylians: Zelda, Impa, and his younger self. They made an almost unstoppable force, Link and Impa taking on the Wire Frames at close range, while Young Link lobbed bombs and arrows into the mix and Zelda sent bursts of Din's Fire along the sides.

Then he appeared.

Link felt a rush of air behind him and a scream as the last red spark of Din's fire was snuffed out. He finished decapitating the female Frame in front of him and whipped around to witness Crazy Hand flying into the night sky, his laugh echoing behind him—and Zelda was gone. His heart skipped a beat.

"Zelda!" he shouted, his younger self and Impa watching with him. He mentally chastised himself for not keeping a more careful watch on the skies.

"We cannot lose her," Impa yelled, continuing to blast away Wire Frames with a Ray Gun in one hand and slashing with a long, curved sword in the other.

Crazy Hand was about to disappear back over the roof of Wario Tower, but then he stopped for no apparent reason. After a few seconds, though, it became obvious: He wanted them to come try and rescue their princess.

"Let's go!" Young Link led the way through their own small ranks back into the lavish lobby of Wario Tower. Inside, they found Donkey Kong single-handedly finishing off a score of spike-knuckled Frames. The Kong pounded the last one's head into the ground with his fist and noticed them.

"Need help?" he asked, looking for all the world as if he'd just been enjoying another morning push-up session.

"This way." Impa led them to the elevator and pressed the button impatiently until it opened, and the four of them filed inside and began heading up to the 17th floor.

There was a long, awkward minute as an ape, a royal guardian, and two of the same hero seven years apart from each other stood together anxiously in the cushy, mirror-walled elevator car. A laid-back, classical arrangement of Green Greens from Dreamland played from the speakers. But the environment was about as far from its occupants' current emotional states as possible. It was like walking through the quiet interior of an airplane in preparation for skydiving—without a parachute.

After what seemed an eternity, the bell chimed and they hurried out into the hallway of the top floor. It took another thirty seconds to locate the fire exit, which DK punched through so they could ascend the last few stairs onto the flat square roof.

. And there, hovering a few yards over the edge, was Crazy Hand, clutching Zelda in such a way that only her head and shoulders and the end of her dress were visible.

Remarkably, this building had avoided being struck by lightning even though it towered over all the other ones, giving a spectacular but horrifying view of the destruction around them. Above, the purple clouds loomed as threatening as ever. But fortunately, the acid rain now appeared to be letting up a little, as if nature could sense the tension on the roof. Some ways off, Diddy Kong was flying his jetpack (which had been found in the infirmary strangely repaired with the rest of the weapon stash) and taking on airborne Wire Frames in a rather interesting dogfight, but he was too busy to notice them. Pit was actually on a neighboring roof nearby, but he was unconscious. Wire Frames swarmed through the streets far below them, clustering around the weary rebels.

"Release me!" Zelda struggled against Crazy Hand's grip, but he was too strong.

"What do you want?" Young Link shouted, drawing his sword.

Crazy Hand laughed for at least 15 seconds before he finally responded in a deep, deliberate voice.

"You have already given it to me."

From over opposite edges of Wario Tower, two metal figures sprung onto the cement surface.

Metal Roy and Metal Fox.

"My brother wants you alive, Smashers…but that still leaves a lot up for interpretation."

* * *

"There's gotta be something we can do to help."

Goombella was as antsy as her boyfriend as they sat with Frankly in their cellar while the siege raged above them.

Frankly nodded. "If you young'uns can think of anything that doesn't leave us pancaked, then by all means."

Goombario's eyes shot open. "Now that you mention it, there _is_ something we can do. Back when I was traveling with Mario to get the Star Rod from Bowser, we had the help of the seven Star Spirits. We could access their power from Star Heaven by Wishing. Eventually, when enough people wished with us, we were able to stop Bowser in his tracks."

"Yeah!" Goombella's memory was triggered. "Now that you mention it, when we fought the Shadow Queen, I was, like, 110% sure we were done for 'til the people of Rogueport sent us the support of their wishes and weakened her enough for us to win—only it was with the seven Crystal Stars. And Mario told me something similar happened with the pieces of the Star Road back when he fought Smithy and his living weapons."

There was a pause, and then Frankly finally said, "Well, don't just stand there. Ring up those cell-u-lar phones of yours and make it happen!"

But Goombella suddenly felt doubtful. "But…what if it doesn't work? What if we can't get enough people, or the Star Spirits can't do anything, or…" Her eyes widened. "…or we don't have reception down here?"

"Well, we've got nothing else to lose, Bella." Goombario already has his phone out and was selecting his entire contact list and typing out a message. "Now let's hope all our friends back home saved up a lot of birthday candles…."

* * *

DK swiped left and right with his fists, but Metal Fox dodged each attempt and rushed up and grabbed him by the necktie. It began punching him in the jaw, which tends to hurt more when it feels like a cannonball being thrown at your face over and over.

The Kong grabbed it by the tail and wrenched it away, brought his arm back like a professional football player, and launched it off the edge.

Metal Fox paused midflight, erupted into flames, and used Fire Fox to launch itself back onto the roof, careening into DK in the process.

DK was down, and his foe aimed an iron jump kick at his head. But he swept his massive arm across the surface just in time, shoving it away and rolling back to his hands and feet. He beat his chest and bellowed. He knew this had to be part of what Grandma Wrinkly had sent him to accomplish with the Smashers. The two started forward, picked up speed, and clashed again.

Link and Young Link tag teamed against Metal Roy, the former covering the upper side while the latter stood right in front of him, blocking lower blows and swinging at its legs.

But even when they hit, their swords simply bounced off the clone's metal body—whereas whenever it grazed one of them, the soft skin gave way and blood oozed out.

It was time for a new tactic. While Metal Roy was engaged with Link, Young Link crouched and somersaulted between its legs, drew a Fire Arrow, and struck it in the back.

That clearly got Metal Roy's attention, for it seemed to know that if its temperature rose too much, it would melt like the Wicked Witch of the West. It struck out behind it with a wide swing, smacking Young Link in the face and sending him to the cement, where his unconscious body remained. It reached behind itself and snapped off the arrow at the head before the flame could do any real damage.

Link grunted in dismay and reengaged Metal Roy with renewed ferocity.

Impa went straight for the Hand, vaulting off the tower and plunging her blade into his palm.

Crazy Hand screamed and loosened his fingers, allowing Zelda to escape by teleporting with Farore's Wind back to the roof, where Impa had just landed. They exchanged a smile and nodded.

Each of the Hand's fingers projected a beam of blue energy, the lasers crisscrossing down toward the two female warriors.

Zelda conjured the blue diamond of Nayru's Love around both her and her protector, reflecting several of the beams back at their source or off into the sky. As Crazy Hand recovered from this, Impa blasted him with several more green bursts of her Ray Gun. Its ammunition depleted, she chucked the weapon at Crazy Hand, provoking him even further.

Crazy Hand balled into a fist and rocketed into both of them, knocking them down and leaving a trail of flames like a rocket ship. It came back around and made to send them both over the edge.

The Hylian princess, feeling bold, actually jumped toward the fist and struck it with her foot, a pinpoint of blue magic sparking from where the tip of her shoe met the white knuckle.

The resulting shockwave sent Crazy Hand over the side of Wario Tower, while Zelda slid across most of the roof, regained control, and upon seeing Impa tumbling through the air toward the edge, dived forward and grabbed her hand just as Impa fell past the corner.

Crazy Hand was gone. Zelda strained with Impa's weight, but breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled her friend back up.

"Thank you, your Highness," Impa said, breathing heavily. She had never held so much respect for her sworn charge than she did now, smiling because she knew she had trained Zelda to defend herself—and others—very well.

They never could have seen it coming. Crazy Hand shot up behind them and grabbed the leader of the Smash Brothers as he rose. He stopped for one awful, surreal moment, then flicked his wrist, plunging Impa to her death.

"Impa! NO!" Zelda screamed, racing to the edge and refusing to believe the object that struck the street below, sending up a small cloud of smoke, was her friend, her guardian since birth.

Meanwhile, DK had taken a beating, but he was now repeatedly smashing Metal Fox into the concrete like a rag doll. It fired three desperate blasts from its gun, two of which missed entirely, but one burning into the fur of DK's shoulder.

As it turned out, that just made Donkey Kong even angrier. He reproduced his stunt with the football throw, only this time as Metal Fox halted to recover with Fire Fox, he jumped after it and brought both of his fists down, clenched together, Meteor Smashing it beyond the faintest hope of survival.

Link was having rather less success. It was not the first time a metal swordsman had proven unconquerable by its original, and with Metal Roy it was no different. At length, it kicked Link onto his back, landed like a human-shaped dumbbell onto his chest (Link thought he heard a rib crack), and plunged its blade toward the Hero of Time's heart.

The Flamethrower made quick work of Metal Roy, its molten body burning several holes through Link's tunic before he was able to back away from it, curled up in excruciating pain.

"Nice, shot, Charizard!" Red shouted from the back of his beast.

However, the boy didn't even have the chance to fully take in the Smashers' situation on the roof before Charizard spotted a cluster of airborne Frames persecuting Meta Knight and shot off to lend aid, the Pokémon admittedly proud of himself for his usefulness.

Link and Donkey Kong, both injured, stumbled over to where Crazy Hand had now snatched Zelda once again, cackling like Dr. Frankenstein on a full moon. The rain had picked up again into a heavy downpour, stinging every bare surface of their bodies.

"You have done well, Smashers," he said. "You have failed your city, your princess, and your leader…but we expected no more. Soon, Master Hand's collection will be complete, and the Nintendo World will be ours. Let this night stand as a permanent reminder of your impotence before this land's highest powers!"

DK and Link would have none of it; they rushed forward simultaneously, intent on freeing Zelda and ripping Crazy Hand apart like a Play-Doh sculpture.

Crazy Hand backhanded them off their feet as if they were nothing but action figures he'd decided to kill off in a childish game.

"Fools! You have already lost!"

With the laser from his index finger (Zelda still clutched helplessly in his remaining digits), he began to draw the hand outline that had already taken Sonic and would soon take the two of them as well. Link and DK were truly powerless before their fate.

It began as a tiny speck of light, continually growing brighter, but as it drew nearer, it was obvious that it was no wandering fairy. The massive, luminous shape came down with great speed through the purple clouds and into the sector where the main battle for Fourside City was being waged.

It was a Shooting Star, a celestial projectile of great power. It collided with the main street below, exploding into thousands of smaller stars, which fell upon the stunned Wire Frames while avoiding everyone else. As each smaller star hit its target, the Wire Frame turned into a star itself and rose, rotating, to disappear into the sky. The multitude of astral lights chased away all remnants of the storm, restoring a Van Gogh-esque panorama of glittering flakes.

Crazy Hand screamed with rage as he barely avoided dozens of Shooting Stars, and he screamed with even more rage when he saw that across the city, other Shooting Stars were descending, purging all of Fourside. Everyone who had been saved from the Wire Frames cheered with joy, shaking fists in the air and embracing the people next to them.

Then, when the last of Crazy Hand's army had been removed, the Seven Star Spirits themselves gracefully descended, rotating in a circle, their five-pointed shapes bright and the area around them dotted with dazzling sparkles. The septet stopped near the top of Wario Tower. The city's residents who were there to see it watched in awe.

"Crazy Hand!" Eldstar, the old mustachioed leader of the Star Spirits, had a voice that echoed forcefully throughout the city. "Leave this land in peace or we shall destroy you with one swift stroke!"

Crazy Hand, as powerful as he was, seemed slightly subdued by the authority of Eldstar's voice. Still clutching Zelda, he turned to those on the roof and whispered rather loudly, "This isn't the end!"

The great white hand ignited the rocket on the end of his wrist. One second, he was there; the next, he was shooting into the distance, Zelda's scream echoing behind him. Link had desperately fired an arrow as Crazy Hand took off, but it missed the white glove by inches.

He and Donkey Kong watched the Star Spirits expectantly, but they did not make a move to follow. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Link shouted. "Use your powers to stop him!"

But Eldstar, with his large white mustache, shook his star-shaped body sorrowfully.

"I'm afraid," said Skolar, the white Star Spirit with glasses and a brown toothbrush mustache, "we only said that to Crazy Hand to get him to leave. There was nothing we could have done to destroy even one more Wire Frame, much less save your friend."

"But you just destroyed his entire army!" Link yelled, his face wet with angry tears. In a few minutes, he had just lost both his princess and a wise mentor.

"Ah," said Muskular, a blue Star Spirit wearing a beret. "But that, young one, was the most draining effort we have ever given, even with the power of the Star Rod. We are terribly sorry, but after tonight, neither us seven Star Spirits nor the Star Rod will be able to assist you for a long time. We have grown incredibly weary, and the Rod is almost in danger of never regenerating its powers again. You will be on your own from now on."

"But know that the heavens shall always be watching, wishing for your success," said Misstar, a pink-tinged Star Spirit with a ribbon wrapped around her top point. Her voice was soothing and heavenly. "Our brightness shall always come as a comfort in the sky on dark, hopeless nights."

Eldstar spoke again. "But before we leave, there is something you must know. This enemy, Master Hand, is unlike any foe we Seven Star Spirits have ever seen, nor you have ever faced. Not only does he seem to hold some form of creative power, but if the Nintendo World falls, there is no hope of redemption. Skolar has foreseen it: darkness will reign supreme forever, eliminating hope, eternally destroying This World's unsurpassable beauty. He will abuse his absolute power to―"

"Anyway," Misstar cut in, "life will never be the same. You must defeat Master Hand and Crazy Hand. You must preserve the wonders and freedoms of This World. More is at risk now than there ever has been. We wish you good luck, and have faith in your success. Farewell, and remember: the heavens are always watching…."

And with that, the Star Spirits ascended back into the sky, leaving the city in ruins.


	17. Chapter 14: The Dimension Theory

Book 3

The Mustering

* * *

Chapter 14: The Dimension Theory

* * *

" **Y** ou see," the professor explained to the others in his lab, "once you combine their DNA with the Wire Frame material, the substance will assume their shapes and physical characteristics. While this has been true for as long as they have existed, with my new formula, the Wire Frames will inherit their magical and natural abilities as well. Obviously this is a huge improvement over the last models, being a much more formidable force on the battlefield. So what do you think, Master?" This professor happened to look extremely similar to Professor Elvin Gadd. Except for a few key differences.

Firstly, the tuft of hair on Professor U. Reeka's head was not white, but an ashy brown-gray. Secondly, his glasses had, instead of spiraling circular lenses, a perplexing diamond pattern of four diamonds placed on top of each other, with the fourth diamond being the rim of the glasses. Thirdly, his lab coat was a darkish gray color instead of white. Fourthly, he did not have a tooth rather comically sticking out of his mouth, but instead had two rows of razor-sharp teeth that glinted dangerously when he spoke. Fifthly, his hissy voice had a slightly higher pitch and a touch of growing insanity mixed in. Lastly, and probably most importantly, he did not invent things for the people's common good or for his personal amusement, instead indulging himself in weapon-making and biological experimenting, not unlike the mad scientist Andross who had been dead for years.

"Good…see to it that my army becomes as you have said."

Master Hand hovered beside the scientist as they looked out from an upper balcony of Reeka's laboratory upon the hundreds of gelatinous mounds scattered across this sector of the Battlefields. Already they were beginning to spawn Wire Frames to replace the ones they had lost in Fourside.

And as this evil professor presented his latest project, with many of his other sinister ideas displayed throughout his laboratory, he gave no thought to his Shadow Queen experiment that had recently been destroyed, or to his long-forgotten rival who also happened to be explaining something at that very moment miles away.

* * *

 **Professor E. Gadd's Laboratory, NW Fourside City**

"You see," the professor explained to the others in his lab, "legend has it that there is a door in this very city that leads to an alternate existence, or dimension, if you will. It is a place of untold mysteries and unimaginable powers.

"Part of Madame Clairvoya's prophecy about the Original 25 stated that in order for Master Hand to fall, the heroes must fall out of reality and find the five Dimension Relics: The Shroom; the Star; the Button; the Pencil; and the Sphere. Whatever that means. The history books say very little on the subject.

"Anyways, I'm willing to bet my lab that we'll find these relics through that door. But the key has been lost for ages; no one within the world's memory has managed to enter it—or enter and return, in any case."

Though he had left behind his portable lab in the Twilight Forest near the haunted mansion, since joining the Smash Brothers, Professor E. Gadd had established a secondary base of operations in Fourside. It had all the appearances of his other lab, only bigger.

"Ah, I see," said Professor Frankly. "So if we are to enter this alternate dimension and harness the power of these Dimension Relics, we must find the key and the door which the legend speaks of."

Professor E. Gadd adjusted his swirling spectacles and gave a toothy grin. "Exactly. But I believe I have already found the location of the door. The _key_ is our problem."

Professor Frankly gasped along with Mario, Mr. Game and Watch, and the Ice Climbers.

"Really? But Where?"

"Mario, you came through an underground passage into an old storage room with a locked door, did you not?" Mario nodded. "And was there not another locked door beside the one which we came out of?" The plumber nodded again. "This," and the professor gave a dramatic pause, "is what I hypothesize to be the door of legend. For our purposes, let's call these mystical items the Dimension Door and Dimension Key. I have personally tried various inventions on this door, but none have been able to unlock or break through it. So the real issue is finding this key and doing the deed.

"Now I have put together from my research in the old tomes of Frankly's library a rough description of the key. It is chrome in color and texture, and has the sense of something ancient, but from appearance looks shiny and brand new. In place of the key's teeth are the letters N and D, which I postulate to mean New Dimension. Finally, this key has strange magnetic properties that keep it from moving farther than about five miles away from the door. So the key, too, I assume, is somewhere in the city.

"I have called you here for two specific reasons. Frankly, I just thought you'd be interested in my lab and research." Professor Frankly sighed in disappointment at Gadd's words. "Frankly the professor, that is. Mario, Mr. Game and Watch, Popo, and Nana, I have chosen you to embark on the quest for this key and then to travel to this alternate dimension to aid us in our fight against Master Hand. Why you specifically, you might ask?" Professor E. Gadd paused dramatically. He was clearly have far too much fun with this. "Because you four are particularly well known for your history, and have plenty of experience in dimensional change. I believe that when you go through the Dimension Door, you very well might lose a dimension to yourself or two. This would make you four among the best prepared to face such a strange phenomenon.

"Now before you start asking if this hazardous journey is absolutely necessary, let me explain why it is. I have done some crucial calculations since what happened last night, and I have concluded that there is no force within reach in This World that can stop Master Hand if he uses his growing power to its full potential. Neither the Triforce nor the Power Stars nor any other power source can match it. Our only chance is to find these Dimension Relics, these ancient powers that have long been sought after by the few who've known of them but have never been grasped. To make history, to change the future of This World, we must grapple with and struggle to understand the forces of time and space. Any questions? Good. Let's have some lunch before we leave."

The professor left for his kitchen to whip up some Shroom Roast and Elixir Soup, leaving the others standing bewildered and dumbfounded.

* * *

After the Star Spirits had left, no one had had the energy left to resist sleeping—either in ransacked buildings or on the streets. The morning sun came bright and terrible, and roused the first of the city's least exhausted occupants. As more and more people awoke, the terrible reality of what had happened hours before dawned upon them (no pun intended). What had previously been a sparkling, bustling, magnificent city was now a virtual sea of blackened rubble and disintegrated metal.

The buildings that were still standing and in usable condition were used as refuges for the now-homeless residents, and a plan for distributing food to the helpless was organized by Fourside's human-chaired city council. Many left the city in search of a new home.

And when those who had fallen or had been seriously injured in last night's battle began to be found, a great mourning spread across the horrified population, spreading to the edges of the giant city—and beyond, even.

Hundreds had been injured, and at least 25 had been killed. Among the deceased were a number of Toads, Hylians, humans, Beanish, Kremlings, and a poor baby Yoshi. Impa's body was found in the street behind Wario Tower. And there were even a few high-profile tournament participants among the casualties.

Blade Knight, Meta Knight's Star Warrior companion, was discovered dead in front of the colosseum entrance.

Pico, the turtle-faced F-Zero racer, had died fighting in front of Wario Tower while Link and his companions raced up to face Crazy Hand.

At dawn, April found her little brother hunched in a deep puddle on the roof of a bank. He was bent over a scaly orange mound, his face sallow with dried tears.

"Red?" She crouched down and gently touched his shoulder. "Whatever happened, Red, you can't blame yourself."

Red said nothing; he merely continued to sob, his pale arms draped over Charizard's lifeless body. The Pokémon did not sustain any obvious injuries—except for the gravest of his kind: The flame on his tail had been extinguished.

With time, April convinced her brother to come with her to be looked at and cleaned up. Eventually the story came out. After Charizard had melted Metal Roy, they had gone off to fight other airborne Wire Frames, which had been no problem for the powerful creature. The problem had been the acid rain. The initial letup had been followed by an unnatural and merciless downpour, which had weakened him and brought him down and snuffed out his life force. Red would not be the same for quite some time.

In addition, a large number was declared missing, and most of them were presumed dead by those who didn't know otherwise. This included Captain Falcon, Samus, Sonic, Shadow, Wario, Waluigi, Zelda, Samurai Goroh, Ike, and the Black Knight.

Among the seriously injured were Pit with his stricken wing; Link with his crushed and scalded body; and Peppy Hare, who had been dragged into the street by Slippy in the morning with a torn ear, mangled leg, heavily bruised face, and dried blood caked on his stomach. Of the three, however, Peppy was the only one in critical condition, too weak to describe how he had been injured, and all Slippy would say in his worry was that he and Peppy had gotten lost and had been attacked by something.

Following the knowledge of Impa's death, Professor E. Gadd became the standing leader of the Smash Brothers, with Meta Knight as second in command. The professor had already convinced many others in the city to join, and he was discreetly sending out messengers to far-off kingdoms to seek more help from every corner of the Nintendo mainland and beyond. Prince Peasley, for example, had been sent to the Beanbean Kingdom to explain the situation and bring back as many fighters as possible, and it appeared that the Rito Postman had left on such a mission himself. Other scouts included Lance the Dragon Master to the Kanto Region, Toadette to the Mushroom Kingdom, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to the Kongo Jungle, King Dedede to Dreamland, Roy to Akaneia, and Yoshi to Yoshi's Island. Team Star Wolf, Sylux, and Gandrayda had agreed to travel to surrounding planets. Fox, Falco, and Slippy planned to do likewise after Peppy's good health was ensured.

A mine cart arrived that morning from the subterranean Smash Bros HQ bearing Nurse Joy, a few of the warriors who had stayed behind, and the freshly healed Marth. Orca, Mumbo, and Humba had returned with a party of warriors the night before as the fight had begun to break out in order to inform the rest of the Smash Brothers of what was happening, ensure the security of their hideout, and, if necessary, bring back a few reinforcements. This was the result of their venture, although for whatever reason they had decided to stay back at headquarters.

And now E. Gadd had called on Mario, Mr. Game and Watch, and the Ice Climbers to undertake a strange journey. So the party of six (counting Gadd and Frankly), after their nourishing meal, departed for the enigmatic door in the Grande Snifit Hotel via Gadd's hover car. It had been conveniently brought over by Dr. Clash that same day, filled with the special fuel infused with ghostly extract from the neighboring Twilight Forest, and the already overburdened professor took relief in having at least one less thing to worry about.

* * *

In a spacious cave below the Battlefields, there was silence. Not a single thing moved—that is, except for one beaten, heavily injured figure that just barely managed to crawl into a mine cart that would lead southeast to an old storage room. This figure was holding on to his life with the determination that he must give his message to someone before he let go. His ribs had been crushed, and the blood flow around his old heart was having a sort of traffic jam. His breath came fast and raspy, but he knew he must go on, so he used what remained of his strength to crank the lever that would bear him along with his grim news.

* * *

The afternoon after the previous night's events, a funeral service was held for those who had perished in the battle. There was quite a large crowd there. Many wild Pokémon had come to show respect for the brave Charizard. A group of intergalactic Star Warriors had come to pay respects to Blade Knight, and awarding him Hero's Crest. And many other families and friends of the dead had come besides these, weeping over the tragic deaths of their loved ones. A good number of them had joined the Smash Brothers as well.

All of the Smash Brothers that weren't otherwise occupied were gathered around Impa's grave in a spacious graveyard on the city outskirts. Link, Meta Knight, and others were taking turns recounting all the amazing and courageous things she had done in her lifetime, both as a guardian of the Hylian royal family and as leader of the Smash Brothers. The wind blustered through the damp trees and greenery as hundreds clustered around the headstone engraved with the Triforce, Sheikah insignia, and the circle with the off-centered cross that represented her part in the fight against Master Hand.

Finally, near the end of the service, Ganondorf stood on a small hill above everyone else. He hid his smirk as he prepared to address the Smash Brothers. Although he was loath to associate himself with such sentimental beings, he knew he would need their help to get to Master Hand. And if that meant pretending to be one of them for the time being, then so be it. Besides, in truth, he was still haunted by the terrible vision of the future he'd seen while in transit from Onett to the Rainbow Ride, and a small part of him acknowledged that as evil as he was, even he wasn't willing to go to some of the catastrophic lengths that Master Hand seemed all too eager to inflict upon everyone who opposed him.

"The dead we have gathered around today should not have died," he said. "They were unjustified casualties, cruelly taken away by an even crueler enemy. But let it be known—I swear unto you that these brave warriors shall be avenged! The Smash Brothers are, as we speak, doing everything within our power to defeat Master Hand. And as long as I am alive, we will not stop until we have succeeded! From whatever corner of the Nintendo World you hail, I implore you to join the fight against the greatest threat our world has ever known!"

He elicited a chorus of cheering, both from established Smash Brothers and those who were new to its ranks. On the other hand, both the Links obviously didn't buy the sincerity of Ganondorf's speech for one second. But for the time being, there was nothing to be done about it.

* * *

The Grande Snifit Hotel was not a particularly beautiful building. However, it stood out more now because it was among the few buildings that had survived the attack and the storm. And when Professor E. Gadd and the others entered it and found the locked door next to the storage room with the mineshaft's entrance, they knew they were in the right place. The door to the storage room was identical to its neighbor, except that the other had that otherworldly white glow seeping in from underneath.

The professor and his chosen adventurers hurried down to the two doors. Game & Watch, just to make sure, tested the left-hand doorknob, predictably finding it locked.

"Well, this is it," E. Gadd sighed. "I really don't know where to start looking for the key, though. Maybe we should call a meeting and ask if anyone has any information on it. Yes, I'll do that now." He took out his communicator and spoke with someone. "We'll be meeting here 15 minutes," he told the others. Popo stared at the locked door as if it were a chimera about to murder him. He gulped. "Take your time."

Fifteen minutes later, most of the Smash Brothers were seated in the sparsely furnished lobby. The Koopa at the reception desk seemed to have fled the coop because of the battle, so chairs had been brought in and space made on the stairwells for as many people to cram inside as possible, with Gadd standing on top of the desk to be seen and heard.

"Attention! May I have your attention, please!" The crowd obediently quieted down. "For reasons that cannot be explained at this time, we are in search of a shiny chrome key, with the teeth shaped like the letters N and D. Does anyone have any information on it? If so, please raise your hand to speak!"

No one moved for a few seconds, and then a Toad on the stairwell tentatively raised a hand.

"Yes?" Professor E. Gadd said with excitement, pointing to the raised hand.

The Toad stood up. "Well, my car keys are chrome, but I don't think the letters ND are on it." He quickly stepped back behind Chef Kawasaki's large body, his face bright red.

The professor sighed. "Well, thank you, sonny…but it has to have those two letters on it. Anyone else?"

Then, unexpectedly, Slippy in the front row raised his hand.

"Yes, Slippy?" E. Gadd asked, not expecting useful information after the Toad's remark.

"Well, I've recently seen a key that looks just like you described."

"Really?" Gadd said, getting excited again. "Where did you see it?"

"Well, Peppy and I were running through a dark alley last night behind the hotel, and then suddenly we fell down a pipe. We were in a dark cave, and after wandering around by laser light for a while, we found a larger cavern that had a pile of different objects in the center, including this key, I think. But then Peppy was attacked by a monster, and it was so dark neither of us saw it clearly, so I shot it with my laser, but I don't think I killed it, and Peppy and I barely escaped by going back the way we came." Slippy sat back down, apparently finished.

"Excellent! Thank you!" the professor said. "Slippy, can you lead us to this pipe?"

Slippy looked startled. "Take you there? I think so. But I sure as heck ain't going back down it."

And with that the meeting ended. The crowd dispersed to see to their various tasks—whether it be rebuilding the city, caring for the injured, gathering Smash Brothers, or training for whatever conflicts lay ahead. Finally, once the lobby was empty once more, Slippy led Gadd, Frankly, Mario, Luigi, G.W., and the Ice Climbers out the revolving doors and around the building to the narrow alley in question.

* * *

"Hm. This pipe appears to be used as a garbage disposal for the hotel. Very interesting." E. Gadd and the others gazed down the gaping blackness of the green pipe which was almost level with the street. The shaded darkness of the alley had made it apparent how Slippy and Peppy had failed to notice the hole, especially considering the chaos of that night's events. "Slippy, thank you for leading us here. May I ask you to wait outside for our return? If we're not back within three hours, get help. Professor Frankly, would you like to wait outside as well?"

The bespectacled Goomba paled and tried not to look too relieved. "Yes, I think I shall sit out on this one, professor."

E. Gadd nodded, then took out his Illumatron 5000 (which was basically a souped up flashlight) and leaned over the hole. "The rope, Slippy?"

Slippy handed him a rope, with the professor promptly tied to a loop on a nearby dumpster, threw the rest of the rope into the hole, and, attaching the Illumatron to his head, began climbing down, indicating for the others to follow.

Mario climbed down after the professor, followed by Mr. Game and Watch, Popo, and Nana. The hole went down so far that the light at the top was but a distant speck above them. The vertical passage was narrow chasm bordered by wet rock.

They finally reached the bottom, and from the limited light coming from the Illumatron they could see they were in a small cave, with a smaller tunnel leading farther down. Tiny stalagmites and stalactites were beginning to form along the floor and ceiling.

Professor E. Gadd set his Illumatron down and, pushing a button on the right side, said, "I'll bet you've never seen a flashlight like this before!"

At that point several things happened to the large flashlight. Metal gears and hinges unfolded out of the light, and soon it was separated into four identical parts. Then, each of the four beams of light separated into two circles, and the four machines unfolded robot-like arms, grounded on tank-like bases.

"These," Professor Gadd announced proudly, "are Mini Illumatron R.O.B.'s—Robotic Operating Buddies. They will be distributed evenly through our group, using their eye sockets to provide light for the front, back, and any direction you point in. Now let us proceed. Mario, would you mind leading? I'm not afraid of the unknown, but I fear this old body isn't prepped to fight any creatures at the moment."

So Mario took the lead, and they began walking through the narrow passage with the six beams of light showing the way.

For about 20 minutes, they followed the narrow tunnel, feeling wet rock walls, and marveling at intricate stalactite and stalagmite formations. Water dripped from above, occasionally landing on their heads. Even with the light of the R.O.B.'s, the majority of the surrounding area was covered in thick darkness. The air was cold and humid. Popo and Nana in particular tried not to imagine what would happen if the R.O.B.'s somehow stopped working and they were surrounded in pitch blackness with no idea of where they were.

Then, some ways into the cave, they reached a fork, with one path veering left and the other curving to the right. After a few seconds' hesitation, the professor led them down the right tunnel. However, after a minute or two of going down this passage, they seemed to reach a dead end.

The R.O.B.'s shone their illuminating beams everywhere, revealing the skeletons of countless creatures and people scattered along the spacious floor. Rats fled from the rotting bones upon exposure to the bright lights.

But when Professor E. Gadd directed one of the R.O.B.'s pair of beams upward, the quiet was disrupted.

Hundreds of Swoopulas—enormous, dark green bats—were awoken by the lights. They left their perches, shrieking loudly and diving down in random directions.

The group of five cried out in surprise and fear. They fled back toward the tunnel they had just gone down. Mr. Game & Watch, who was the last to leave the bone-littered, bat-infested cavern, was suddenly confronted by a huge dark gray bat, known as a Swampire, It swooped toward the 2-D character, its fangs bared menacingly, aching to feed. Mr. Game & Watch stopped, and when the bat was but a couple feet away from his face, he drew out his black flame.

The Swampire screeched in pain as it passed through the flame and fell writhing to the ground. Mr. Game & Watch maneuvered around it and followed the others into the tunnel.

The bats, apparently satisfied and sleepy, did not follow, but returned to their perches. Regardless, the venturers ran until they were back at the fork, where they stopped to catch their breath.

" _Whew._ Do you think that was what attacked Slippy and Peppy?" Nana asked, panting.

Gadd shook his head. "I, _huff_ , don't think so. There was no pile of objects, and I don't think those bats would have mangled Peppy's leg, do you?" The others shook their heads in agreement, and they started down the left tunnel.

After a couple minutes of careful walking, they reached another cavern, and this cave appeared to fit Slippy's description.

It was approximately the same size and shape as the bat-infested one, but further examination showed that the ceiling was bat-free, and there were no rats in sight, either. Bones still littered the ground in perhaps a larger quantity, and on the right side was a tall ledge that they could not see over, from which echoed a loud snoring noise. Hanging from the ceiling, creaking menacingly with each swing, were two empty iron cages that added additional tension to the small group. Finally, in the center of the room was a large pile of objects, just like Slippy had claimed. So many different items were in this heap that it would not be worth listing them all, but they all appeared to be shiny or valuable in some way, including lots of gold coins, jewels, pearl necklaces, silver goblets, a very long Goron-made sword with a ruby set in its hilt, broken pieces of colorful glass and crystal, and even a familiar magical paintbrush (familiar to Mario and Gadd, that is) that appeared to be broken in half. Whatever had amassed this collection had to be some kind of murderous magpie.

And near the top on the side facing them was a small chrome object, reflecting brightly off the R.O.B. lights despite its age and size.

"There it is!" Gadd cried. "That's the Dimension Key! I'm sure of it! I can almost see the letters in the teeth from here!" Unfortunately, in his excitement, the professor had forgotten all about the deadly guardian that had maimed Peppy. The snoring suddenly stopped, and whatever was on the ledge appeared to be moving, grunting angrily. The group huddled in fear and silence as something huge stood up, its enormous head appearing above the ledge.

Everyone was too afraid to point at it to see what it was, but when it began moving towards them, with only the head visible, Mario shakily and reluctantly lifted his arming, his gloved finger directing one of the R.O.B.'s light beams to the object, revealing its head.

It was the flower-like Piranha Plant, Petey Piranha, with yellow flowers around its head, which was red with white polka dots. Its large green lips bordered its huge, gaping mouth and its sharp white teeth. It turned toward the intruders and let out a long, deafening, fearsome roar.

Mario, however, as well as the others, was very relieved. "Mama-mía. I thought it would be a-something actually dangerous. Don't a-worry, I've fought this a-thing several times. All you have to do is a-knock it over and a-stomp its―"

But he stopped mid-speech as the rest of Petey's body came into view. Instead of leafy arms, a plump stomach, red and white polka-dotted shorts, and stubby green legs, there was…something else. Eight giant, hairy spider legs protruded from the sides of his horizontally positioned body, which now had no leafy arms or feet. His stomach area resembled the abdomen of a spider, and― this was the biggest shock of all― a huge, sickly yellow eye opened up in the middle of Petey's polka-dotted forehead, its pupil narrowing from the brightness of the light.

"That is strange," Mr. Game & Watch remarked, recalling the little he knew about monsters in Hyrule and the Mushroom Kingdom. "It looks like a com-bin-a-tion of Pet-ey Pir-an-ha and that Hy-li-an spi-der, Goh-ma."

At these words, Professor E. Gadd's eyes widened in horror. He whispered to himself. "Could it…? No, it's not possible…is it? He couldn't have returned…"

Then Piranha Gohma began to charge, bellowing in Petey's deep voice.

"Danger!" the professor yelled to the R.O.B.'s, which reacted by firing laser bursts from their eye sockets at the monster. The lasers scorched Piranha Gohma's head and legs, but did not seem to hinder it much. It responded by shooting goopy blobs out of its mouth, destroying first one and then another of the R.O.B.'s, which critically decreased their light sources.

"Stop!" Gadd yelled. Realizing what would happen if all the R.O.B.'s were destroyed, he grabbed one of the remaining robots (both had stopped firing) and began running toward the pile of treasure. The other R.O.B. remained with Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, and the Ice Climbers, and shone at the hideous monstrosity approaching them.

It spotted Gadd heading for the pile and turned toward him instead. The Ice Climbers chucked two Freezies at it to get its attention. Piranha Gohma roared again and turned back to them, advancing on its spider legs with a renewed fury.

Mario tossed fireballs at it, Mr. Game & Watch lobbed burning black bacon, and the Ice Climbers threw Freezies, but none of their attacks had much of an effect. The creature slammed into the Ice Climbers with its head, knocking them into the far wall. It then turned to Mario, and before he could react, trapped him in a pile of goop-like muck, also destroying the second-to-last R.O.B. It lifted the goop-covered Mario with a hairy leg, brought him toward its huge saliva-dripping mouth, and…

Mr. Game & Watch, not drawing attention with his completely black figure, thought about what Mario had said about Petey Piranha. He leaped high over Piranha Gohma and slammed into the abdomen with his black key, piercing the plant-like flesh.

Piranha Gohma bellowed in pain, and its spider legs collapsed to the ground, dropping Mario. It groaned weakly, its harsh breath growing steadily weaker. Mr. Game & Watch pulled out his key and jumped to the ground, walking over to help Mario out of the goop. Piranha Gohma's hot breath blew past them, growing weaker and weaker.

And suddenly, it roared even louder while simultaneously lunging forward with its mouth to clamp down on Mario and Mr. Game & Watch. As the two heroes braced themselves for their painful deaths, there was another screech from Piranha Gohma, and it collapsed again, definitely dead this time.

Professor E. Gadd was standing next to the creature, one hand holding the shiny chrome key, and the other holding the Biggoron Sword that he had plunged into the yellow Gohma eye on Piranha Gohma's forehead, black blood/eye fluid trickling down the blade.

"Whew!" the professor said, laughing. "I guess this old geezer's still got some juice left in him after all, eh? Now let's help the Ice Climbers and get out of here before our last R.O.B.'s battery runs out!"

* * *

Bowser was sitting on a large obsidian throne at the end of his red-carpeted throne room, torches lining the stone walls. He looked out the nearest window of his hovering castle at the destroyed city below. He was already glad he'd taken the time to order his minions to bring it over from the Mushroom Kingdom.

"General?" he bellowed.

"Yes, King Bowser?" A Hammer Bro. with four yellow stars emblazed on the front of his helmet spoke from his left-hand side.

"Are your troops on their way? There's no telling when Master Hand will strike again."

The distinguished Hammer Bro. nodded. "Affirmative. And with them are Sergeant Goombob's, Colonel Koopriko's, and Master Kamek's troops as well."

"What about King Boo's?"

The hardy Hammer Bro. hesitated. "Erm…well, the Boos' situation is somewhat unknown. I mean, they were all vacuumed up by Luigi a couple years ago, but just a while back, someone seems to have let all the ghosts out again. Only thing is, nobody knows where the Boos are. There's a rumor that a few of the Smashers encountered them at the mansion…"

Bowser gave a low growl. "Well, when they do show up, King Boo will have some explaining to do. No matter. Where is Pichu? I wish to speak with him."

"I'll go and fetch him, my king." The general ran back through the big doors at the other end of the throne room.

Now there had been many friendships made the night before. But perhaps the strangest one was a bond made between him and the small yellow mouse. Pichu had saved Bowser's life during the battle for Fourside. And when Pichu was being carried off into the throng of Wire Frames, Bowser charged through all in his way and returned the favor. So began a bizarre yet effective camaraderie.

A few moments later, Pichu came pouncing through the doors, stopping at the foot of Bowser's throne.

"Pichu?" he asked inquiringly.

Bowser sighed with his head resting on one claw and looked down at his little friend. "I don't really know why I called you here; I guess I was just longing for some competent company."

"Pi-Pichu-Pi! Pichu Pi-Pichu!" Pichu urged, which meant something along the lines of, "Have you told anyone else what you heard from Shadow Queen during the championship match with Sonic?"

Bowser was struck by the simplicity and stupidity of what he had failed to do. He smacked himself in his forehead with his other claw. "Crap! I haven't told anyone! I completely forgot about all that! I guess I should, shouldn't I?"

Pichu nodded.

"Thanks, Pichu. You can leave now, if you want. I'm gonna to go find that Gadd person…" And Bowser leapt off his throne and began thumping toward the launch pad of his new Koopa Clown Car.

* * *

"Well, without further ado, farewell!" Gadd stood with the recently returned cave travelers in front of the locked Dimension Door. "Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, Popo, Nana…the fate of the Nintendo World rests in your hands. We are all counting on your success in obtaining the power we need to defeat Master Hand. Good luck, and—" The professor cut himself off as he saw something move beyond the open storage room door.

"Wait just a minute, lads," Gadd whispered. "There's someone in there."

Mario crept into the storage room and flicked on the light, revealing the wounded figure crawling toward them.

"Orca! What happened?" Professor E. Gadd's eyes were wide with shock behind his glasses.

The warrior dragged himself closer towards them, stopped, and looked up with his weary old eyes, the fire in them clearly dying away. His bare torso looked terrible; most of the ribs were clearly broken (it could be seen through his skin), and the damage was evidently impairing his respiratory and circulatory systems.

"Mario! Get the medics, right away!" Professor E. Gadd ordered. Mario left. "Orca, what happened to you? Who did this?"

Orca groaned. His voice was soft and harsh. "M-Master…Hand…attacked…headquarters…everyone…killed or captured…maybe…two…survivors…" Orca stopped and wheezed for several seconds before continuing. "I…Metal Bowser…crushed…hid…came to warn…cannot be stopped…"

"They attacked headquarters? Did you find anything out?"

Orca hesitated, still wheezing. "Like…like what?"

Professor E. Gadd considered what he was trying to say for a moment. Even as he spoke, some part of him knew his words didn't really make sense. But whatever the subject, he knew he had to keep the old man talking to keep him from drifting off. "Like…is there anyone besides Master Hand and Crazy Hand behind this? Or are they alone? A professor, perhaps?"

Orca's voice was now very slow and extremely soft, so Gadd, Mr. Game & Watch, and the Ice Climbers had to lean forward to hear the faint words.

"Didn't see…a professor…not sure…but Master Hand…"

"Yes, yes?" Professor E. Gadd urged apprehensively, forgetting Orca's condition as his mind spun with terrible ideas. Was there a chance his worst fears might have been realized?

"Master Hand…may be…a master…but he…is also…a…" Orca's voice was dying away.

"Please, Orca, what is Master Hand besides a master?"

"…a hand." Orca's strained voice died away at the end of his last word. His raised head fell forward, and his body became limp. The wheezing stopped.

"No!" Tears crept down from behind the professor's glasses. The Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch stared sadly at Orca's body. Gadd was slightly disappointed at Orca's obvious last words. Of course Master Hand was a hand! But had this been a tip for fighting him, a weakness, or what? The fallen warrior's strained last words seemed to have little meaning.

A low, growling voice came from behind them. "Yeah, but soon he won't even be a hand, or a living thing, for that matter. Those gloves have been white for _far_ too long!"

The four characters turned around. Bowser was standing there, arms folded solemnly, his dark eyes burning with anger. They could tell he knew what had transpired, that another life had been lost to Master Hand. Then Bowser turned specifically toward Professor E. Gadd.

"Professor, um…I learned some things from the tournament that I think you should know."

The sad scientist nodded, still looking gravely at Orca. "I would be very interested in hearing what you have to say, but I don't think there's time for the rest of us to hear it. We must wait for Mario to return, and then another journey must begin. Time is even shorter than I realized. Training and preparations for battle must be made immediately, and this door must be sealed off after we search the fallen headquarters for the survivors Orca mentioned."

Bowser looked annoyed. "But Professor…why Mario? I'd be just as good at any mission he goes on! Oh, but I suppose I'm needed to gather troops…"

"Yes," E. Gadd agreed. "You will be needed here. Still, you _are_ just as experienced with dimensional change as he is…and they may need some additional help defending themselves…Bowser, while we wait for Mario, take me to your Clown Car…"

* * *

A professor and his master looked out as the massive army they had always dreamed of creating began to take shape. Many small flying machines with long needle-like points flew over the hundreds of purple domes, squirting small drops of a strange green formula into them. With each drop, a still-solidifying Wire Frame stepped or crawled out of the dome. Each one solidified into one of 25 unique forms (one being in two parts), then joined one of the many growing blocks of troops, lining up in an orderly fashion. They blended in somewhat in the glowing Battlefields.

"Master?" Professor U. Reeka asked.

"What is it?" Master Hand said. They spoke while continuing to watch the growing army in front of them, the professor with his arms behind his back.

"What if they use the Star Rod again, Master? It obliterated hundreds of troops with one strike!"

Master Hand began to laugh. "Yes, the Star Rod; the power of the stars; the Wish-Granter of the Heavens. My brother made a mistake in underestimating its power. Still; the Star Spirits used so much energy to stop him, they would not have been able to strike again despite Eldstar's threat. It will take at least a year for the Rod's power to regenerate, by which time the Nintendo World will be under our control, including the Heavens. We need not concern ourselves with them any longer."

"Yes, very good, master!" But U. Reeka's thoughts then drifted to an even greater source of power that Master Hand wanted but had been unable to locate: the Dimension Relics. It wouldn't help for the Smash Brothers to get ahold of those, either.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, everyone was back at the Dimension Door, with the addition of fifty trained Hammer Bros under the direction of General Hammo.

"Good luck, Mario; Mr. Game & Watch; Ice Climbers. Good luck, troops." E. Gadd nodded toward the Hammer Bros. "Like I said before, the fate of the Nintendo World depends on your success. The Dimension Relics—the Shroom, the Star, the Button, the Pencil, and the Sphere. Find them, for all our sakes. I have no idea what kinds of challenges you'll come across, but remember: always look for friendly faces! I'll leave the key with you so that you have a way back, and I'll keep this place well guarded until you return. Goodbye!"

Mario made to unlock the door, only to be interrupted.

"Wait! One more thing."

This time, Gadd seemed to specifically address Mario. "I have a second objective for you. We're still missing a few of the Original 25, some of which may be more difficult to locate than others. But from my research, I have reason to believe that through this door you may find one of them. You knew him in the last tournament as Dr. Mario."

Mario's eyes widened, but he nodded. "We'll a-find him and a-bring him back."

"Very good, lad. Very good. My apologies; proceed!"

Without further ado, Mario turned the chrome key in the old lock, and it clicked. He pulled the heavy door inward, revealing nothing but an extremely bright whiteness along with a strange humming noise. After bracing themselves, the five heroes, one by one, jumped into the light, followed by the sequence of Hammer Bros. Bowser and Gadd waved as they left, then closed the door behind them. They left for the Clown Car, for the professor was ready to hear what Bowser had heard from the Shadow Queen.

But the guarding of the door was not set up quickly enough, for three additional figures who had been spying on them crept out from the storage room and slipped inside the ominous portal.


	18. Chapter 15: Know Your Roots

Chapter 15: Know Your Roots

* * *

 **E**. Gadd's laboratory looked perfectly untouched because of the strength of the specially designed steel walls and the flat pewter rooftop. A couple lightning bolts and a downpour of acidic rain weren't enough to damage, dent, or scratch it in the slightest. It was also a good 50 yards from any other structure, occupying its own isolated spot near the southeastern edge of the city. Therefore, it was fairly safe to say that a conversation on the roof couldn't be overheard or interrupted without an excessive amount of effort on the eavesdropper's part. Of course, inside would have been even safer, but E. Gadd felt too busy to waste time plugging in security codes and appeasing voice recognizers, so the Clown Car landed on the rooftop, and Bowser and the professor stepped off onto the solid metal surface, then stood across from each other so they could speak.

"So," E. Gadd said. "What did you and Sonic learn from the Shadow Queen?"

"Well, uh…" Bowser wasn't sure where to start. At length, he recounted to the best of his ability the words spoken during the final match between Sonic and the Shadow Queen. He expounded to Gadd how the Shadow Queen had revealed herself to be another servant of Master Hand, and how she claimed to be a fused form of both a Floormaster and the Shadow Queen. He stopped for a few seconds, then said, "Oh yeah, and the name of the professor who created it, and who also works for Master Hand, was Professor U. Reeka."

"NOOOOO!" Professor E. Gadd shouted, looking crazed. And then he seemed to calm down. "Sorry about that. I was just in denial that he could have returned, but…truth be told, I had begun to suspect it for a while…."

"Wait a minute." Bowser looked confused again. "You mean you actually _know_ this U. Reeka person?"

E. Gadd sighed. "Well, it's a long, long story."

"Hey, I just told you my story, old-timer. Now it's your turn."

Gadd sighed again. "Very well. But the responsibility will fall upon you to tell others if they wish to know also. I was born in a mansion in the depths of the Twilight Forest…"

* * *

At first Mario thought they were dead. The step into the light seemed to have numbed his senses for several seconds. And then, in place of the blinding whiteness appeared a plain, bright, digital blue. It essentially looked like a blue computer screen, the color not varying in the slightest all around him. And then Mario noticed that he was floating.

The other 53 individuals were doing the same nearby. Everyone was just drifting slowly through the air as if they were in outer space, except with no details to define where they were. Some of the Hammer Bros began to laugh and do acrobatics in midair (or whatever it was), flipping and stroking through the space like water.

But then things began to change. They couldn't tell for sure which direction was which, but from beneath most of the travelers, a light purplish tinge began to spread upward around them. And after about half of the space was lavender, the bottom began to change again to reveal glittering stars and streaks of beautiful red, dark purple, and deep blue, giving them a more reassuring sense of existence. The plain blue and lavender areas shrunk overhead until they were completely gone.

And they only had a few seconds to take in their extraordinary surroundings when several massive shimmering objects appeared a short distance from the group on all sides. They shimmered more and more slowly until they stopped moving. It took Mario and the others several seconds to realize what these shapes were.

They were the giant devices that were so well known to be among the strange objects in Master Hand's room. However, usually there were two to four plugged-in objects with buttons and analog sticks all over them on one side, and usually there was a giant cartridge with some Nintendo-related picture on it inserted in the giant slots on the top. Some were more square and simplistic, while some were rounded, and a couple of them were vertical and had an enormous screen on the front (one even had two screens).

In case you hadn't already guessed, these were what we know as Nintendo gaming systems, and in this instance every system up to the Nintendo DS was present in a massive form, each rotating slowly. To the Nintendo World, these were mysterious machines used occasionally by Master Hand and Crazy Hand for their own entertainment. There were rumors that these devices served as systems by which Master Hand and Crazy Hand, looking on their theater-sized television or the screen on the devices themselves, controlled digitally animated figures that resembled characters in the Nintendo World.

Even stranger, or even creepier, was the fact that all around them echoed strange sounds that we know are made by these systems, such as beeps, whirs, and buzzes. But these sounds were not coming directly from the floating systems; rather, they resounded from random directions, which disconcerted Mario (and, he was sure, the rest of them).

After several moments of floating and turning around wildly, Mr. Game and Watch drew up some resolve and began stroking openly toward one that seemed to be calling out to him—a beige, rectangular machine with red buttons and a plain gray screen. The Game and Watch. He couldn't explain why he found himself drawn to it; he just felt a weird vibe of homeliness coming from the object.

"Wait, stop! You don't know what'll happen!" General Hammo panicked as he noticed what Mr. Game & Watch was doing. But the 2-D silhouette paid no heed to the general; he just continued to approach the system calmly and intently.

" _I said stop!"_ The general was so infuriated and frightened that he actually threw a hammer at Mr. Game and Watch. However, because of the thick, gravity-free environment, it moved extremely slowly, rotating forward as it moved. Mr. Game  & Watch saw the hammer and dived away to avoid it, but now the hammer had nowhere to stop; it kept moving at the same angle in the same direction, which happened to be directly towards the Nintendo DS.

"NOOO!" Hammo dived toward his straying hammer in vain, crashing into Mr. Game & Watch as the hammer came into contact with the touch screen. It simply vanished inside as if the system were exactly that: a _star_ system composed of a dense, nebulous cloud with a very specific shape.

The DS's power seemed to turn on (although to the heroes, the small green light meant little), and the DS logo was displayed on the top screen while the accompanying sound echoed at an almost deafening volume like an amplified, high-pitched piano key. The touch screen turned extremely bright, with all substance and matter and air being pulled into it like a vacuum, and all 53 explorers began to be rapidly sucked toward the DS. Hammer Bros screamed as the first to disappear into the DS, Hammo and Mr. Game & Watch, vanished completely. The starry background rotated faster and faster as Mario, the Ice Climbers, and the rest were pulled into the silver machine, and once again, everything was enveloped in whiteness.

* * *

"But back then, the Twilight Forest was not the haunted wilderness of dead trees we know today; it was lush and beautiful and colorful and..." Gadd caught himself rambling with nostalgia and ceased his digression. "Well, anyway, I lived in a large mansion in the northern region with my wealthy parents. I used my money to invent the first of my wondrous inventions, such as the very first R.O.B. model and edible silverware."

Bowser raised an eyebrow. "You mean that haunted house where most of the Boos tend to hang around?"

Gadd nodded. "The very same."

"Then why is it a deserted dump in the middle of a dead forest?"

"I'll get to that. Anyways, I had an uncle, Miles Reeka, who lived not too far away in the forest, but he was poor and lived in a small shack with his only son. Countless times my parents offered to bring him out of poverty with no payback necessary, but Miles was too prideful, and always refused, insisting that he didn't need his spoiled brother's help.

"As time went on, I went off to school all the way in Fourside City with Miles's son; although my uncle even disapproved of the boy's loose association with his cousin, there were no other schools adequate for nurturing his kid's genius, so he had no choice but to allow my cousin—who I just call Reeka—to accept a scholarship to attend with me.

"Reeka turned out to be at least as intelligent as me—if not more se. At the beginning we saw this similarity as a reason to be friends, but very soon that short friendship turned into a heated rivalry. No one else was even close to our level of ingenuity, so at every science fair, for every school assignment, project, or test, the rest of our class enjoyed the daily displays of the intense and well-matched competition between Gadd and Reeka. It was in our last year when everything went wrong.

"You see, as we matured, the nature of our inventions and projects began to clearly differentiate. While I invented a device that allowed wood lice to speak English, Reeka invented a stimulant to make them go into a rage and eat anything they touched. While I discovered the formula to turn water into chocolate milk, he changed it into deadly acid. People began to see me as the beneficiate of the Nintendo World, and Reeka as a dangerous warmonger. Neither of us was favored more than the other by the crowd as a whole, but two separate parties supporting each inventor were formed, often criticizing and butting heads with the other group.

"One dreadful day, our teacher paired us up and assigned us to create a model of Death Mountain. As luck would have it, Reeka and I were forced to work as a team. While others gathered vinegar and baking soda and brown construction paper, we argued for hours on end about the way we should make our model. I wanted to make it spew out fireworks, but he wanted to make it produce actual lava. 'The more realistic, the better!' he claimed. We ended up building two separate volcanoes, such was the height of our disagreement and growing dislike. I built mine like the others, just much more detailed and authentic-looking. As for his…well, I'll tell you.

"After displaying my fireworks, Reeka invited the class on a field trip to a rock quarry just outside the edge of the woods. After we flew over Akaneia, we saw it. In the middle of a large ring of rocks, his volcano towered to at least half the height of Fourside's tallest skyscraper. Reeka explained how he had actually drilled through the ground and created an real volcano, and had then precisely sculpted all the rock formations of Death Mountain. He said he was going to demonstrate his experiment when I intervened. I told him that it was far too dangerous to create such a lava flow so close to the woods, and that he mustn't do it. He wouldn't listen, so I tackled him to the ground before he could activate the controls. He responded by smacking me terribly hard with his custom-made Iron Fist Glove. This blow sent me right into the control panel of the volcano, and the force of my body's hit caused the volcano to malfunction.

"The ground began to rumble. Reeka couldn't control anything because of the damage and shrieked accusations at me. Our class screamed as an enormous jet of lava spurted out of the top of the Death Mountain replica. Because of the malfunctions, it was tilted at an angle—one that, while not hitting any towns or our class, sent the lava pouring onto our dear forest.

"The fiery destruction caused by that incident not only destroyed the entire forest, but burned down both my house and Reeka's, killing my parents and his father."

"So that's why the mansion's haunted and able to disappear on a whim," Bowser deduced. "And all those other ghosts besides the Boos…"

"…were my family, yes." Gadd nodded, having come to terms with this fact long ago.

"Why did you live by it for so long?"

"Good question. I remained there until Luigi came around because the spirits of my deceased kin were unable to move on. I spent years designing the Poltergust 3000 so that I could return them to their portraits and put them to rest."

"Wow." Bowser hadn't realized that whole escapade had been so personal to the professor. He supposed that helped explain why King Boo had been so adamant about using a ghostly shell of his own body to scare trespassers away; for the Boos, such a concentration of ethereal sorrow would be like an oasis in a desert, something they would do just about anything not to lose to Gadd. Thus, Luigi had been lured there in the hopes that he would leave Gadd vulnerable….

"Reeka blamed me for the tragedy and attributed it to my 'interfering' with his experiments, and he threatened that the next experiment he made would be aimed toward my demise. He then disappeared for many years.

"However, one day, there was a report that his dead body had supposedly been found on Mountain #32, the tallest and coldest mountain in the Icicle Mountains, where he had built a laboratory to work on all manner of sinister projects. I never saw or heard from my cousin again." Professor E. Gadd let out a long breath, appearing to be finished.

"Until now," Bowser finished. "What was his first name, anyway? I can't think of many names starting with U."

"His first name?" Professor looked like he was still in heavy flashback mode, but then he suddenly snapped out of it. "Oh, that doesn't matter. What's important is that you know Professor U. Reeka, my greatest rival and enemy, has somehow survived, and is now wreaking havoc with his terrifying mind under the direct order of Master Hand."

"Wow." Bowser yawned. "That _was_ long. And slightly sad. Well, thanks for the story and all, but I need to be getting back to my castle. Where do you want me to drop you off?"

 _Slightly sad?_ Gadd thought. But he didn't say it aloud. "At the Training Dojo, if you don't mind."

* * *

Once again, they found themselves in a plain blue environment. This time, however, they were not floating, but were sprawled on an invisible surface, dazed and confused. But after just a few moments, the top of the blue area began to fade away to reveal a light blue sky with clouds that had perpetually smiling faces. The darker blue area decreased, revealing more and more of their new surroundings like a picture loading on a computer. After only a few seconds, they had a complete view of their new environment (by now, everyone had gotten back onto their feet).

They appeared to be in a courtyard, one that looked very familiar to Mario and some of the Hammer Bros. There were a couple of sparkling fountains, several trees dotted across it, and evenly cut grass dominating the hilly ground. There was, in front of them, a large white-and-red castle with three pointed towers, the one in the middle being the widest. On the top of this tower was a flag bearing a mushroom, the emblem of the Mushroom Kingdom. There was a small mote that encircled it, and a stone bridge that led to the front doors.

"It's a-Princess Peach's Castle!" Mario exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes," General Hammo agreed. But both his and everyone else's eyes were wide in surprise. "Except everything's…um… _different._ "

There was indeed a very strange difference about everything in this Mushroom Kingdom. _Except us,_ Mario noticed. It is hard to describe, but it was like the art style of a photo being changed on Photoshop to a brighter, cartoony environment. Imagine stepping inside that two-dimensional photo and seeing everything from a ground perspective. This is what Mario and the others saw. It was as if someone had lowered the world's resolution.

It took a couple minutes for everyone to get used to the strange environment, and then General Hammo bellowed, "Attention, troops!" There was a quick scramble, and then all of the helmet-clad Hammer Bros were lined up perfectly straight and still, their hands saluting. The General went down the line, occasionally spouting random protocol questions and chewing out a troop for slightly improper form. He took a quick count, but when he got down to the last Hammer Bro., he exclaimed, "What the Flipside…There are 53 of you! Troops, we have 3 imposters among us! Name off!"

"One!" A Hammer Bro. near the far end of the line took a step forward.

They went on until 19. After Number 18 stepped forward, no one else responded.

"Nineteen!" Hammo barked. "Name off. Now!" But there was no response.

"Oh, no!" Number 18 began shaking. He looked down the line to his left and right. "Dennis? Where are you?"

Mario, Mr. Game & Watch, and the Ice Climbers watched as the general marched up to Number 18 and shouted, "What happened to Dennis, soldier?"

"W-well," Number 18 stammered, "when we g-got sucked into th-that strange m-machine, Dennis tried to swim away, but he collided into a giant button that said 'POWER.' Th-then everything went white, and I didn't see what happened to him. I just assumed he would come with us, but he's g-gone!"

"How can they tell between themselves?" Nana muttered to her fellow Smashers from behind the line of Hammer Bros. "They all look exactly the same from here!" The others just shrugged.

"That's too bad," Hammo said with an unexpected note of genuine disappointment. "But if Number 19 is gone, then who's in his― AHA!" He was pointing at a Hammer Bro. near the end on his right side. But on taking a closer look, it was obvious that this one was different. The biggest reason was that he was about a foot taller than all the others, and his facial features seemed to be less dynamic than the others'—fake, even. Also, now that he was being singled out, he was beginning to tremble just like Number 18, but of a different kind of fear. The fear of being discovered.

"Son of a Buzzy Beetle! How could I have missed that?" the general scolded himself. "Imposter! Reveal yourself!"

The misfit looked left and right, and stuttered in a non-Hammer Bro-like voice, "I'm, a…a new recruit?"

But the imposter's hopes were dashed when Hammo sprung forward and tackled him to the ground and tore off his head (or, rather, his mask) to reveal the masquerader's identity.

"Luigi?!" Mario exclaimed, as shocked as the rest. "What are you a-doing here?"

The general got off of Luigi, staring at him suspiciously. It was apparent that Luigi had found or stolen a Koopa shell and a mask to disguise himself as a Hammer Bro.

Luigi was sobbing. "I'm a-sorry, Mario! I just couldn't a-miss another adventure! I was a-tired of being left out! Please let me a-stay!" Luigi was kneeling before his older brother like a beggar.

"Mario…" General Hammo warned, but Mario cut him off.

"He might as a-well. We don't a-know how to get a-back anyway. Come on, Luigi." Mario helped Luigi stand up and patted him on the back.

"Thanks, bro," Luigi said gratefully.

"Wait," said the general, still suspicious. "If Number 19 is gone, and you're here, then…" He paused to count on his fingers for a few seconds. "…then there are still three more imposters among us! But how…"Hammo snapped his finger. "Got it. Troops, line up for a recital of 'Bowser's Battle Hymn!' One, Two, Ready, GO!"

 _We are the loyal followers of Bowser our great King_

 _Whose greatness is unmatched in any place that can be seen_

 _We'll strive to help him rule in every land and everything_

 _His Koops are marching on!_

This was the first verse of a truly irritating and ridiculous song which, as could be guessed, went along with the melody of "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The voices of the Hammer Bros were surprisingly unified and in tune; the laughable lyrics were what ruined it. However, by the end of the third verse, Hammo appeared to know who the imposters were. He called off the singing. But just to make sure, he ordered another count-off, watching in particular three consecutive Hammer Bros in the middle that appeared to look and react just like all the others. Finally, Number 50 had named off and stepped forward, leaving these three, who had not answered because of the fact that they did not have numbers.

"You three!" The General pointed at the imposters. "Reveal your true selves, or we _will_ subdue you by force."

The phonies froze, staring at Hammo, Mario, Luigi, Mr. Game & Watch, and the Ice Climbers. Then they turned and fled toward the castle.

"After them, Troopas!" Hammo yelled, and the entire party, with the Smashers and the general at the front, pursued them.

The imposters threw open the front door and dashed inside, slamming it shut behind them right before the first of the pursuers reached it. Hammo flung it open, and they saw the three rogue Hammer Bros dashing up the staircase. With Mario and the general in the lead, they chased the nimble intruders up the right side of the curved flight leading to another door at the top.

As they rushed through these doors, they entered a large hallway famous for its long red carpet and its ornate marble pillars. However, like the outside, the inside of the castle had a lower resolution that made everything look and feel artificial.

At the far end of the hallway and in front of the next door was a Toad with a brown mustache standing next to a lacy pink baby carriage. He was startled by the sudden outbreak of noise and the dozens of intruders that appeared to be running straight towards him. He let out a cry and stood in front of the carriage with his arms extended protectively, a wailing noise now coming from the carriage.

The imposters didn't seem to mind the idea of trampling innocent bystanders, as they showed no sign of slowing as they approached the panicking Toad and the baby carriage.

But when they were just yards away from colliding into the Toad, a spinning blur shot out of the ground and knocked the fake Hammer Bros backward onto the floor.

The blur alighted on the carpet in the form of two tiny figures, each wielding a large metal hammer that looked much too heavy for him to be carrying. They were two infants, both in diapers; one had a red cap with an M on it, the other a green one with an L. The red one was holding up a single unearthed Hoo Bean, oblivious to all the newcomers around him. This was apparently the prize Baby Mario and Baby Luigi had been seeking underground.

"Babies!" Mario and Luigi shouted in unison. They couldn't resist leaping forward and embracing their long separated infant selves. The Babies shrieked and giggled as they were thrown up and down in the air. It had been too long; the last time (and only time, for that matter) the brothers had met their infant selves, they had traveled to the past to stop the Mushroom Kingdom from being overrun by the Shroob aliens and had teamed up with the Babies to take down the sinister spirit of the Cobalt Star.

"I hate to break up the reunion," General Hammo said, "but these imposters need to be dealt with now!" At that, the three grounded Hammer Bros sprang back up, ran toward the right wall and… _jumped out the window_ , shattering one of the expensive-looking stained glass depictions of Princess Peach. Everyone who could fit crowded around the hole to see Hammer Bros fall directly through a hollow tree stump filled with a swirling white and blue pattern.

"No! Don't!" Popo held Hammo back from jumping after them. "You never know what might happen." Both of them were thinking about Number 19.

The young Toadsworth, clutching the handle of the stroller with the infant Princess Peach, asked Mario what was going on, who explained to the best of his ability where they had come from and what they were trying to find.

"Hm." Toadsworth subconsciously tapped his fingers on the handle as he pondered the heroes' plight. "I have heard of these Dimension Relics, but none of them are in This World. Queer portals of the sort your enemies fell through appear from time to time, yes, but no one who enters them ever returns. But dear me, it is so good to have you back, Master Mario and Luigi! Your company looks like it could use some supplies, yes?"

Young Toadsworth proceeded to lead them to the castle Item Shop, where Mario and Luigi equipped themselves with a number of Items that would give them an advantage during particularly dire battles.

"I suppose there's no way to stop the young masters from joining you," Toadsworth said as they were preparing to follow the imposters into the tree stump portal. "So I can only wish you the best of luck, lads, and one final piece of advice." He checked to make sure the baby princess was still asleep, and when he next spoke, it was almost in a whisper. "Dimensions are not the sort of things you want to mess around with. Whatever you do, Master Mario, and wherever you go in these strange realms, do _not_ leave anything from your world behind. If a single pixel is displaced, the whole universe could be horribly distorted beyond any of our imaginations. So do be careful! Good luck saving the future Princess! Farewell!" Toadsworth and the tiny Princess Peach waved as one by one, the party jumped into the swirling hole, with dimensional balance added onto their long list of things to worry about.

On the far side of the courtyard, peering through a gap between two hedges, a small Beanish cloaked in red observed this intriguing phenomenon. His strange helmet repaired and his swirling glasses polished, Fawful whispered to himself, "So…Red and Green have returned. Now I shall spread my mustard of doom throughout the entire sandwich industry. Then…we shall see the finale of the most final finale! I HAVE FURY!"

* * *

The Training Dojo in Fourside City had been specially prepared to train both experienced and inexperienced fighters in the art of battle. Anyone who chose to enlist themselves with the Smash Brothers was brought to this place and, based on their previous experience, was enrolled in the appropriate training program. There were six basic designated skill levels: Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and Intense. Most everyone who had never fought before was placed in Very Easy; if they had fought in the Battle of Fourside, they started in at least Normal. The only ones allowed into the Intense difficulty were those who had a well-known history of fighting and a longtime allegiance to good (those who had fought through the first fourteen chapters of this story to get there, for instance).

In each level, there were four training modes one could participate in. Each method took up a different branch in the dojo. The first, the simplest, was Sandbag Mode, where trainees practiced their attacks on one of Gadd's Sandbags which were specially made to never break, just like the one in the underground headquarters. The fighters also worked on combo moves and throwing skills.

Second was Platform Mode, where one began in an obstacle course that was generated to be unique for each character and difficulty. The goal was to land on each of ten special yellow platforms which blinked red if they hadn't been cleared, and turned green once the person's body weight activated the weight sensor.

The third mode was Target Test, in which an obstacle course was also generated to match each character and skill level. Ten targets, moving or stationary, were placed throughout the course, and the trainee was challenged to destroy all ten targets in the fastest possible time.

Lastly, Melee Mode was where they could practice fighting other fighters of their own skill level. Gadd had designed a special simulator that created a stage for them to fight on, which included hazards such as moving objects, flamethrowers, and water depending on the difficulty.

When a trainee had mastered each mode on their current difficulty (except Sandbag Mode, which was purely for practice), they were allowed to try the next skill level, and so on. There were currently hundreds of fighters enrolled, and progress was booming. The Smash Brothers were growing stronger with every passing moment.

Professor E. Gadd was supervising the current Melee battle from behind a glass wall. It was a Normal fight between Dixie Kong and an armored Koopatrol. The Koopatrol was more aggressive while Dixie demonstrated the nimbleness of her significant other. The simulated stage they were on resembled a simple platform with two smaller platforms above each side and a higher platform in the middle.

Then a door on one side of the spacious room opened, and two green-tunics entered the viewing room and walked up to the professor.

"Professor, can we please ―" Link began, but Gadd cut him off with unusual sharpness.

"No, lad. I've already told you, you can't go alone to Master Hand's Fortress to try to save Zelda. You will most certainly fail, we need your help rallying Hylian troops."

Though it had taken the heroes weeks to gather at Fourside, the recruiting missions to the various Nintendo regions went much more quickly because of Gadd's newest portal technology. Examining the gelatinous purple pods that had allowed Crazy Hand's Wire Frame army into Fourside, the scientist discovered that these mounds contained properties that allowed not only Wire Frames, but just about anyone (metal clones and Giovanni, for instance) to travel across the world almost instantly. He had isolated the responsible material and fused it into special doors that would allow recruiters to make quick work of their task and eventually bring back reinforcements. Seeing as these doors were solely in Fourside, Gadd had calibrated them to take their passengers to the still-existing pods throughout several of the major Nintendo cities (Beanbean Castle, Saffron City, and Akaneia, to name a few). By doing so, Gadd also discovered that Master Hand had already established pods in other regions that had not even been attacked yet, which concerned him, but since nothing had come out of the Battlefields since the Battle of Fourside had been won, he felt fairly confident that they had some time to prepare before Master Hand would send another wave.

"But she's in great danger, and we could try to save the other prisoners too!" Young Link said.

Professor E. Gadd sighed. "Look at these fighters." They turned to face the skirmish between Dixie and the Koopatrol. The Kong seemed to be gaining the upper hand. "What are they fighting for?"

"The safety of the Nintendo World, same as us," Link said.

Gadd nodded. "Exactly. But what would happen if they went alone to Master Hand's Fortress?"

"They'd fail. But we're stronger ―" Young Link was interrupted by Professor Gadd again.

"Irrelevant, young'un. My point is if you two go it alone, you'll have no one to support you, no one to watch your back, and no matter how good of a fighter you may be, there's no way you'll make it inside…unless Master Hand wants you to. Besides, chances are Zelda is already ―"

"Don't say that!" Link couldn't help raising his voice. He had lost Impa forever…and if they didn't act quickly, he might lose Zelda, too. The Hands had to pay. "She's too strong to be taken that quickly. We still have time, professor. My younger self and I could still do it."

Professor E. Gadd did his best to swallow his impatience. Somehow, he still hadn't gotten his point across. The stress of his new position had already added fresh wrinkles to his already aged, bald head. Were he to remove his glasses, his red-rimmed eyes would speak of lost sleep. "Boys. Look to Mario your example. His princess has been gone from the beginning, and yet he doesn't run off alone toward Master Hand's room because he knows it is far too dangerous and his skills are needed here. He's currently involved in a covert operation in another dimension searchin' for a lost power source that could make or break our victory. And what have you two been doing? Spending your time trying to convince me to let you leave and mourning yourselves to death over Impa's loss!" At the mention of the former Smash Brothers leader, the conversation took a suddenly solemn tone.

"If you two don't go to Hyrule," Gadd went on, "who else do I have to send? Ganondorf? Besides, the only way we'll be able to save Zelda is to defeat the Hands and their armies, and that _cannot_ be done alone! That's the express purpose of the Smash Brothers' existence. Do you understand, lads?"

Link and Young Link stared at the ground for several seconds, disgruntled, and then Link nodded slowly; Young Link followed his lead.

Professor Gadd smiled. "Good. Now go! We can't teleport you to Hyrule without a Wire Frame Pod there, but you can take one of my Poltergust 4000's in the garage. Choose whichever color you prefer, but don't take the prototype; that one's prone to take off in the wrong direction. Good luck!" The professor shooed them away, and went back to watching the battle before he remembered something. _It's time to see what's happened to the underground headquarters_ , he thought, and use his communicator to call for Banjo & Kazooie.

* * *

Mario and the others found themselves back in the strange astral environment from before, with the giant replicas of the Nintendo systems rotating slowly. All around them echoed bizarre beeps and rings originating from these systems.

As they expected, the three Hammer Bros were nowhere to be seen. They spent several moments looking around, trying to find a sign of where the sneaks might have gone.

Suddenly they all felt a strange vibe coming from a certain direction. It was hard to describe; they couldn't physically feel anything; it was more of a mental wave, passing through each of them like a voiceless whisper. And it was clear the disturbance had come from the enormous SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System).

General Hammo looked inquiringly at Mario, who gave an approving nod while piggybacking his younger self, and the general started floating purposefully towards the SNES. Mr. Game & Watch, noticing this and feeling a sudden trivial, competitive urge, began bounding toward the old system as well. Hammo was seconds away from touching it when Mr. Game & Watch landed on the General's red helmet and pushed off of it, propelling himself into the NES and disappearing within. The others felt a familiar force pulling them toward the system, but this time they did not resist, knowing that no harm would come to them…unless…

"Number 18! Stay away from that Power Button!" Hammo cried, but Number 18 simply yelled, "DENNIS!" as he dove into the box's purple power switch. Unlike the others, however, his screaming figure turned white, then suddenly disappeared with a flash and a line of white light, like a TV shutting off, his scream still echoing among the peculiar sounds. This was the last thing any of them saw before disappearing into the SNES, with Number 50 bringing up the rear.

* * *

Fear and apprehension rushed through Professor E. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie as they rode back down the dark tunnel toward the headquarters which they had thought, up until now, as a safe place. At length, they disembarked and moved cautiously into the passage leading to the wider chambers. They could see the path through the rocky ground where Orca had dragged himself toward one of the mine carts. As they approached, they could hear no sound, no familiar talking and laughing which they had become accustomed to.

Finally, the main amphitheater-like room opened out before them, but there was only darkness beyond. They could see using Gadd's last remaining Illumatron R.O.B.

"Someone forget to pay the electric bill?" Kazooie quipped.

"Quiet," The professor whispered, holding up a finger. After several seconds of silence, he finally signaled for them to enter the headquarters. "All of the Banana Fairies are gone. I wonder what happened to them…."

The R.O.B. widened its beams, which now spread across most of the room but still left plenty of corners and edges hidden in darkness. Geologically, the room was the same as always. Otherwise, however, the place was in ruins. All of the tables, chairs, and various shelves, dishes, and papers were scattered about. Most of the furniture was broken or upended. Shards of glass and splinters of wood littered the ground and other surfaces. In place of where the small stage and podium had been, where Impa had introduced Mario and Ness to the Smash Brothers, was a mass of splintered wood. The one good thing was that there was little or no blood in view, and no bodies could be seen. It was completely silent.

Professor E. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie were too devastated to move. It was a huge shock to see years of work and ideas trashed just like that.

After about a minute, Gadd finally recomposed himself and spoke. "Alright. Let's search for the survivors Orca mentioned. I think we can assume they're here if they're still alive, because we would have seen them coming down the tunnel, and they would be fools to leave the other way…."

As the professor looked around, he saw a large scorched area, most likely compliments of Metal Bowser. And as he lifted up some planks of wood, he realized that there actually were several bodies buried in the ruins—the few human guards that had been left behind with Orca. None of them could he recognize by name, but he felt a deep grief for each life that had been lost, and wondered if any of them had been captured instead of killed From the looks of it, though, it appeared that none had been spared.

Banjo and Kazooie decided to search the opposite side of the headquarters. They too discovered that a number of Smash Brothers had been killed, but they noticed there was hardly any blood at all; the bodies were merely bruised and broken. Finally, they reached a dark area behind the bar where drinks had been served to cheerful warriors not so long ago. They saw nothing, but then…

"Hey Banjo, d'you hear that scuttling noise?" Kazooie was pointing toward the dark area with her wing.

"Yeah, I do, Kazooie…but what is it?" Banjo began lifting up broken objects behind the bar, but then felt something alive move across his hand. "Yeargghh! What was that?!" Banjo quickly pulled his hand back.

Kazooie stared harder at the spot, but couldn't make anything out. "It's no good, I can't see…HEY PROFESSOR, GET OVER HERE!" Her voice was as effective in summoning Gadd as a bugle.

"Yes?" Gadd quickly stumbled over the broken objects to where they were.

Banjo asked, "Could we get light on that spot right there?"

The professor pointed at the dark area, and the R.O.B.'s two jets of bright fluorescent light turned to point at it. It revealed the spot to be strewn with splinters and such like the rest of the headquarters, but sitting on top of it were two large mice.

"Oh," Kazooie said, disappointed. "Just a coupla stupid rats."

"Wait," Gadd said. "Those aren't any ordinary mice…" Then Kazooie noticed that both rodents had tiny red feathers sticking out of their heads, one with three feathers and the other with a single one. But suddenly the mice darted between their legs and behind them. "Whoa!" Banjo almost lost his balance as he turned to go after the creatures.

The three of them pursued the two scuttling mice as they made for the entrance to the tunnel. Finally the mice reached the entrance and stopped and turned to face them. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie came to a halt.

And before their eyes, the two mice transformed into much larger forms, the feathers still sticking up from their heads.

It was Mumbo Jumbo and Humba Wumba.

* * *

"Watch out for those a-falling a-Viruses!" Mario warned.

The world they were now in was even simpler than the last one. Now it was completely 2-D, including the newcomers. It was very strange because they had a kind of third-person perspective in which they could see their own flat shapes as well as the others. Mario, Luigi, the Babies, the Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game & Watch happened to be enclosed in two separate groups within two huge rectangles against a blank white background. Because of their rather limited perspective, they could not see outside the boxes. From the top of the boxes, red, yellow, and blue blobs with goofy, demented faces—Viruses—were falling every few seconds, chittering mischievously. Once they landed, the viruses began moving toward the boxed-in characters, hopping and cackling like Thing 1 and Thing 2.

The Ice Climbers and Mr. Game & Watch stood back-to-back. As each Virus fell, either G.W. destroyed it with his black flame, or the Ice Climbers eliminated it with their hammers. Meanwhile in the other box, Mario and Baby Mario as well as Luigi and Baby Luigi worked in pairs to defeat the viruses with punches, kicks, and hammer swings.

Popo had a thought. "Where are the Hammer Bros?" Nana shrugged and used a spinning technique with her hammer to flatten a yellow Virus against the side of the tall box.

Suddenly, the boxes and viruses disappeared, and the newcomers were left in complete whiteness.

"Wha…?" Luigi and Baby Luigi blurted out simultaneously.

They turned left and right, confused and lost. Then, about five seconds later, a whole swarm of Viruses fighting the Hammer Bros popped up out of nowhere.

"Mama-mía!" Mario and Baby Mario cried out with notably differing pitches.

But there was nothing for it but to join the fight. The Viruses, although small, were pesky and nimble, and had already weakened many of the Hammer Bros. The fight went on for what seemed like hours, and the Viruses seemed to be replenishing themselves innumerably like a…virus. Then Luigi had an idea.

"Mario!" he shouted. "It's a-Copy Flower time!"

Mario nodded, and he and Luigi simultaneously threw the Items they'd just purchased from the Item Shop in front of them. In place of the Copy Flowers spawned hundreds of Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi copies that began bulldozing over the swarms of Viruses. Within a matter of minutes, there was only one of each color of virus left, and they seemed to have used up their ability to multiply. They were surrounded by the copies, the Hammer Bros, the Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game & Watch.

The Viruses seemed to converse quietly for a couple seconds. Then the red Virus screamed manically, "Self-destruct! Self-destruct!" The three Viruses leapt into the air, and began glowing white.

There was a scramble as all the Hammer Bros and copies panicked and began running away. But just when shafts of light were beginning to project from the three lone Viruses (clearly a prelude to their "Self-Destruct"), three Megavitamins fell from above and collided with each Virus. They all stopped glowing, landed on the white ground, groaned, and disappeared with a pop.

Seeing as the danger was gone, all of the copies disappeared, revealing a lone figure in the middle of the blank space where the Viruses had been. Mario, Luigi, the Babies, the Hammer Bros (minus two which had been lost to the Viruses, now numbering 47 including the General), the Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game & Watch turned to see who it was, and all of the Smashers gasped.

"Dr. Mario!" Mario said. "It's a-you! Do you live a-here?" Though they had been briefly acquainted during the last Smash Tournament, neither Mario nor anyone else knew much—if at all—about the Italian doctor. All they knew was that Gadd had instructed them to keep an eye out for the mysterious Smasher; but it looked like that wouldn't be a problem.

He was the exact likeness of Mario except with a white doctor's outfit (complete with a stethoscope) and a circular silver object strapped to his head in place of a red hat. He had the same voice as Mario as well.

Dr. Mario walked toward them. "Yes, I a-do. But I do not always stay a-here. You were lucky that I a-happened to just get a-back…" Mario was especially curious to meet himself and had about a thousand questions he wanted to ask, but he knew there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"Can you a-help us find the…er…Dimension a-Relics?" Mario asked.

Dr. Mario raised an eyebrow. "Is that a-what you seek? But a-why have you come such a long a-way for it?"

In about ten minutes, Mario summarized everything that had occurred in the Nintendo World since the last Smash Tournament had ended.

Dr. Mario stood there deep in thought, his hand on his chin. Though most of his mannerisms resembled his counterpart's to the T, the more they were together, the more his slightly more intellectual demeanor made itself known. "Hm. I've a-missed a lot, haven't I? So you a-need the Dimension Relics to defeat a-Master Hand. Well, I guess I a-need to get out of the Dimension Conflux more often. I will a-help you." The others were glad they hadn't needed to do anything to persuade their fellow Smasher to join them, but the doctor's terminology had confused them. "Oh! That's a-right! You don't a-know what the Dimension Conflux is! Well, it's a-basically the world beyond the Dimension Door. It's a-made up of every dimension which has a-faded from reality, including my world. I a-happen to be the Overseer of this Conflux, and I spend my a-time making a-sure all the other dimensions are in order. I happened to have just gotten a-back from _Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland_. The first Kirby was a-babbling about some enemy mix-up that occurred some a-years ago…but anyways, back to the Dimension a-Relics.

"Now, the Dimension Relics are made up of five a-parts. One of them I have a-with me. Two of them are in _Super Mario Bros_ for the NES. Another is in _Paper Mario_ , and the last a-one…I do not know of. It is a-said that the one who has all five components is unstoppable."

General Hammo was brimming with curiosity. "So let's see this part that you have, then! What's it do?"

Dr. Mario reached into a pocket of his white coat and brought out a TV remote-like object with a glass covering over the top. Beneath the glass was a large green button, which featured two arrows moving in a counterclockwise circle.

"This," the doctor explained, "is the Reset Button. But it's not just any reset button that a-lets you start a game over; this Reset Button, if pressed, will cause the flow of time in whatever world it is in to back up exactly 13 a-seconds. It has never been a-used before, and it is said that once it is a-used, it will cease to a-work."

"But why thir-teen sec-onds?" Mr. Game & Watch asked.

"I don't a-know…it must have a-seemed like a good number to choose at the time."

"Alright," Nana said, "so we need to collect the other four Relics so we can use them to stop Master Hand. Let's go!"

"Wait, I'm not quite a-finished." Dr. Mario held up a finger. "There is one more important thing. The one thing in the Dimension Conflux you must NEVER do is leave a-something in a world that doesn't belong in that a-world, or move something from one world to another. This will upset the space-time continuum, and could a-cause anything to happen, more likely than not disastrous. Now, since I am the Overseer, I have the power to a-travel between worlds in a much more convenient a-way. So I will a-lead you to find the parts which I a-know of; but as for the last a-part, I will be of no help. I suggest we a-go to _Super Mario Bros._ "

"Let's a-go!" Mario agreed.

Dr. Mario proceeded to take out a red and yellow Megavitamin and threw it at the empty space in front of him. The Megavitamin created a small explosion, and it seemed to slowly dissolve the whiteness to reveal a very pixilated world with a plain blue sky and brick ground. The dissolved area grew larger until it was big enough for a couple people to file in at a time.

Dr. Mario led them through the artificial tear in the world of _Dr. Mario_ , bringing them into the historic world of _Super Mario Bros._

 _What kind of life is this?_ Luigi wondered, bringing up the rear and not feeling particularly keen on jumping through. If he'd been put in the doctor's position as Overseer—which he still didn't understand what that really meant or who got to decide—he'd try to avoid the past as much as possible.

But today, at least, they had no choice.

He jumped inside.


	19. Chapter 16: The Shamans and the Sneaks

Chapter 16: The Shamans and the Sneaks

* * *

 **P** rofessor E. Gadd, Banjo, and Kazooie stared in bewilderment at Mumbo Jumbo and Humba Wumba standing before them. Then, finally, the professor composed himself enough to speak.

"How…er…when…er…what happened?"

Mumbo looked out at the destroyed headquarters, tapping his skull-tipped staff in his left hand, then turned to Gadd. "It long story. We here thinking of ways to get into fortress, then Wire Frames burst into room with Metal Bowser and Peach. They destroy everything, kill many, take some prisoner. I turn Humba and me into mice so we escape. Knock-off Indian shaman ungrateful, but…"

Humba folded her arms and turned away from Mumbo in a huff. Then she began where Mumbo left off, still looking away. "We try to fight back first, but big heap Metal Bowser kill many, too strong. We only remaining except shirtless warrior Orca."

At the mention of Metal Bowser, Gadd was reminded of his conversation with the real Bowser a little while back—how the Shadow Queen had been sent to help the tournament capture the Smashers. He thought of Madame Clairvoya's prophecy; he had done his best to interpret its meaning, but perhaps a shaman would know more. He decided to have a go even though it would seem like a most unnatural change of subject.

"Mumbo; Humba; some time ago, I showed you the prophecy about the Original 25. What do you make of it?"

"Shaman magic help reveal meaning of many things," Humba said. "Ghost lady's words tell us all we need know about Original 25. They be Master Hand's chosen and only bane."

"Wait," Kazooie said, who for once was paying close attention to the discussion. "Are you saying that the Original 25 are the only ones who can defeat Master Hand, who hand-picked them himself? No pun intended?"

"Yes," Mumbo answered. "Master Hand create Smash Tournaments, and chose fighters. Without meaning to, he select the ones who can kill him. But, unless they all fight against him together, he still be invincible."

"Unfortunately," Humba continued, "he find out this secret, and now wants them out of his way by turning into trophies. He no kill them unless he have to."

"Well," Banjo said, "we've seen just about all of the Original 25 around here, haven't we?"

"Regrettably, no," Gadd said. "Several of them were taken to Master Hand's fortress about two months ago. We know now for a fact that Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, and Captain Falcon of the Original 25 are now trophies. Zelda remains Master Hand's captive. Several others are now scattered across the Nintendo World and beyond seeking warriors to aid our cause. This leaves only two who we have yet to find: Dr. Mario and Mewtwo."

Mumbo responded, "Me think Dr. Mario live in another dimension. He cannot be from here because Mario here also."

E. Gadd nodded. "That's exactly what I think. My hope is that Mario's company will come across him past the Dimension Door. Which leaves Zelda and Mewtwo to us….Anyone know where Mewtwo lives?"

"Pichu-Pi!"

"Puff!"

The five Smash Brothers turned around to see Pichu and Jigglypuff in the entrance of the tunnel leading to the city. Both of them had said simultaneously, "We do!"

Professor E. Gadd was delighted. "Great! Now that you're here, may I ask you to go find Mewtwo and convince him to support our cause?"

Jigglypuff and Pichu looked at each other uncertainly, and then nodded to Gadd, Jigglypuff saying, "Puff, Jigglypuff puff," which meant something along the lines of, "We're not sure, but we can try; our trainer has had dealings with Mewtwo before…."

"Superb. Feel free to use either a Poltergust 4000 from the garage."

"Pichu Pichu," Pichu said decidedly, which meant, "I call driving!" He began rushing back along the passage without another word.

"Puff!" Jigglypuff said, which meant, "Oh, no you don't!" Jigglypuff began spinning, and used Rollout to chase after Pichu.

The professor smiled, having almost forgotten their grim surroundings. "It's good to have such loyal Pokémon on our side. Now, all that's left for us is to prepare."

"For what?" Humba asked.

"For the war, of course," Gadd replied.

* * *

Everything was 2-D and pixilated in _Super Mario Bros_ , including the new arrivals. Mario, Luigi, and the Hammer Bros had been transformed into their old 8-bit versions, while Mr. Game & Watch looked almost the same except without rounded edges; the Ice Climbers had taken on their Ice Climber NES appearance; Dr. Mario looked just like Mario except with a black line in place of the red hat and as close to a white coat as could be made with a very limited amount of pixels, and the Babies were not much more than red and green specks. Also, in This World everyone seemed incapable of speaking. There would have been an awkward silence without the memorable music in the background.

They were on a plain brick ground with a plain blue sky and a cluster of brick blocks above them. Mario began to walk to the right, and the screen began scrolling. The large group of Hammer Bros and the others followed. But when Mario stopped and began to walk the other way, the screen didn't stop scrolling, and at the same time, a gap had appeared in the brick ground from the right side.

In a panic, everyone began running forward to keep up with the strange automated scrolling. They all jumped over the gap, but one Hammer Bro. slipped and fell down it. As they continued to run, a death jingle was sounded, and the Hammer Bro was gone.

Now in even more of a panic, the group continued to move through the stage, jumping over gaps and maneuvering around brick platforms. Goombas and Koopas began to appear, and the level seemed to go on and on. Three more Hammer Bros fell either in gaps or to enemies, although most enemies Mario and Luigi disposed of in the front with fireballs and calculated jumps. Anything that got past them was attacked by the Hammer Bros' barrage of spinning black hammers, which created a virtual wall of hammers that any player would find impossible to maneuver through, let alone a simple static Goomba.

It became more and more difficult to survive, as now they found themselves jumping from mushroom to mushroom, swimming, and avoiding Bullet Bills, Spinies, Lakitus, and Paratroopas. Five more Hammer Bros succumbed to the increasing difficulty; only 39 remained when they finally reached the flag near the castle at the end. Mario and Luigi jumped at the same time from a staircase of blocks to grab the top of the flag, but only Mario actually grasped onto it, while Luigi soared clear over the top of flagpole and landed on his head on the other side like a broken firework.

Finally, when everyone had reached the castle, the screen stopped scrolling. With the exception of Dr. Mario, everyone was confused, wondering what would happen next. Dr. Mario continued past the castle a few steps, turned to the group, jumped twice as an indication for them to follow, and disappeared into a horizontal green pipe a little further down. The rest hastily followed suit for fear of losing their guide.

A few seconds after they had all disappeared down the warp pipe, three more Hammer Bros passed the flag and proceeded down the pipe as well, a sense of silent malice about them.

Upon entering the dark blue cavern, the party resumed its race against the scrolling screen. Here, they experienced moving platforms, Buzzy Beetles, Swoopulas, and Piranha Plants as they traversed the long, dangerous tunnel. Their surroundings seemed so visually primitive, yet just as deadly as the real world.

It seemed as if the tunnel would never end; the only good thing was that Dr. Mario seemed to know where he was going, and the remaining Hammer Bros were becoming more accustomed to the pattern of running and jumping: only one more was lost for the duration of the level.

Finally, they reached the warp pipe at the end which led to the flag on the surface. This time, Mario and Luigi leapt in unison off the brick staircase, but Luigi, using Mario's head as leverage, pushed off of it and grabbed the top of the flag, sliding down triumphantly. Mario tumbled to the ground, and stood up only to be knocked back down by Luigi landing on top of him.

But this time, before Dr. Mario could lead them to the next area, three hammers flew from the left side of the screen and KO'd three more Hammer Bros, reducing the count to 35. The imposters responsible entered the screen, looking exactly the same as the other Hammer Bros, but separated by a short distance and facing the rest. Mario and the others prepared to fight, but before they could do so, one of the imposters brought out a POW block, placed it in the air, and hit it, knocking everyone else down. The three rogue Hammer Bros then jumped over the group and continued down the path, bouncing on several of them in the process.

After a few seconds, Dr. Mario sprang back up, the rest soon following. The doctor jumped up and down frantically as if to say, "Hurry! We can't let them escape!"

They ran forward and soon came face to face with a large castle. There was no other choice but to enter.

Inside, they found yet another level, but one which was now even more dangerous than the other two. There were fireballs, lava pits, Dry Bones, Thwomps, huge sliding stone blocks, and hazardous spikes. At one point Dr. Mario thought he saw part of a Hammer Bro's shell on the far right of the screen, but it sped up and disappeared. Finally, when they reached a large pit of lava with a flat wooden bridge over it, now numbering 31 Hammer Bros, they found the three imposters on the right side of the bridge waiting for them. They stood beside the axe that would destroy the planks and plunge anyone on it into the lava pool. Accordingly, Dr. Mario halted before walking onto the bridge.

After a moment, he tentatively began to move forward, but one of the Hammer Bros drew close to the axe as if to threaten him. Dr. Mario jumped up and down in protest, but the Hammer Bro moved forward and picked up the axe.

The bridge was destroyed piece by piece from right to left, so Dr. Mario barely had time to jump back onto the rocky ledge, while the imposters disappeared down the right side of the screen.

Dr. Mario and the rest began jumping up and down frantically, not knowing how they would get across or even escape the other way. After a few moments, Popo and Nana stepped forward and lobbed Freezies into the lava pit. The Freezies melted into the lava with a loud hiss, but now the lava seemed to boil a bit slower. The Ice Climbers continued to dish out Freezies, cooling the lava more and more, until finally it was just brown rock which they could safely walk across. The group dashed across the rock and proceeded into the next room, where they found a pixilated, square-mouthed Toad waiting for them.

A message box blinked open at the top of the screen, and words appeared while the Toad made talking motions. The words read, "Thank you for saving me! But the princess is in―"

Dr. Mario, realizing this strange method of communication, interrupted Toad with words of his own: "We're not looking for the princess. We're looking for the Life Shroom and the Superstar. Do you happen to know where they could be?"

The Toad panicked and looked frightened as he replied in the box, "Yes! I had the Superstar, but those three Hammer Bros came by and stole it from me! They went that way!" The Toad pointed to the right (as if there were any other way they could have gone).

"Thank you," Dr. Mario replied in text, and then did his two customary jumps indicating for the group to follow him. After they exited the castle, they found themselves at another staircase and flag, but there was a conspicuous black spot on the other side of the flag, which rippled and distorted the area around it.

"Okay," Dr. Mario said in text, "the imposters exited the world through this portal. They have the Superstar, so we'd better go after them. We can come back later for…"

But Dr. Mario halted in his speech as he watched Mario and Luigi's final contest for possession of the flag. Luigi got a head start, but as he jumped off the edge of the stairs, his head hit an invisible block, and he tumbled to the ground while Mario triumphantly grabbed the flag and slid down; but instead of just bouncing off Luigi's head at the bottom, he purposely kicked him over while still swinging from the flag, and used the force of the push to execute a high jump while spinning and flipping, landing with a victory pose while fireworks sparkled conveniently in the background and the message box read, "Let's a-go!"

Meanwhile, what got Dr. Mario's attention was that from the previously invisible block appeared none other than the Life Shroom, which the doctor caught as it fell off the block.

Luigi got up grumbling and made a move to rush at Mario, but Nana, who was behind him, froze him with a Freezie before he could do anything.

"Alright!" Dr. Mario said in the text. "Now let's hurry before the imposters get away…."

Everyone followed Dr. Mario into the black rift, Nana hitting the frozen Luigi into the hole with her hammer before entering last.

* * *

In front of Pichu and Jigglypuff loomed a steeply sloping mountain. It did not seem to have a peak; the top either was flat or curved down like a crater. After looking at the mountain, Jigglypuff reignited the Poltergust 4000, and they continued up the slope where the trail had ended. They had to avoid trees, small bushes, and ditches along the way, but fortunately did not meet any wildlife.

Pichu and Jigglypuff were in the northern region of the Unclaimed Territory, which was named simply because it did not seem to fit in with any of the other regions, and no one particular type of people or creatures seemed to live there.

The Poltergust 4000 proceeded up the mountain until they finally reached the top, where they found that it did indeed curve downward, and in the middle was a glass-like lake. The afternoon sun reflected upon the still water, dazzling their eyes.

At this point, Jigglypuff and Pichu dismounted the vehicle and turned off the engine. They walked tentatively toward the silent lake.

"Pichu?" Pichu called out with uncertainty, which meant, "Mewtwo? Can you hear us?"

"Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff said, which meant, "We need to speak with you. It's very important!"

They waited for several minutes, but nothing happened.

But as they began to turn back toward the Poltergust 4000, they noticed a slight shimmering in the lake. The shimmering gradually turned into ripples, and then into small waves, moving in great rings toward the shore on all sides. The waves grew bigger and bigger, but somehow did not spread past the boundaries of the lake; in the middle a very deep hole in the water began to form. It grew to about the diameter of a large inner tube, then stopped. The rings of rippling waves subsided.

From the depths of the hole in the lake shot up a blurred figure, creating a splash that soaked the two watching Pokémon. The man-sized figure halted about twenty feet above the lake and faced the visitors, and Pichu and Jigglypuff had to wipe the water out of their eyes to see the Pokémon in front of them.

"Pi-Pichu!" Pichu cried as he recognized the legendary cat, which meant "Mewtwo, you're here! We have a lot to tell you."

Mewtwo's penetrating stare intimidated the young Pokémon, but the fact that they had met before bolstered their courage. The purple-white cat Pokémon, roughly humanoid with a tube extending out of the back of his head and connecting with the back, hovered with his arms folded and considered the Pokémon. Rather than speak out loud, he used telepathy to convey his messages, while Pichu and Jigglypuff continued to talk out loud.

 _"There is no need to explain, young ones. I make my residence within this mountain, but that does not mean that I do not get out and about….Whether I am noticed, now that is another matter….I know of everything which has been going on in the Nintendo World up until last week. What is it you want?"_

"Puff Jigglypuff puff!" This meant something along the lines of, "A lot has happened in the last week, Mewtwo. And we need your help." Jigglypuff then explained everything that had recently taken place: the tournament, the near total destruction of Fourside City, and the gathering forces of the growing Smash Brothers.

Mewtwo paused for a moment afterward, taking it all in. _"Impa is dead? I cannot believe it…she was a great leader…and Crazy Hand left taking only one captive? Very strange…so now I assume you want me to join this army of yours?"_

Pichu and Jigglypuff nodded simultaneously.

 _"Well, then, that is very well."_ Mewtwo closed his eyes. _"But this is all sounding much simpler than it must be. I have always had my suspicions about Master Hand…but why has he been so merciful when he could have destroyed us all long ago? Is he toying with us? Seeking for personal amusement? It is all very unclear…."_ Mewtwo opened his eyes again. _"I will join your Resistance movement…on one condition…."_

Pichu and Jigglypuff jumped for joy. "Pichu Pi-Pichu?" Pichu asked, which meant, "What is your condition, Mewtwo?"

Mewtwo unfolded his arms and spun around once, as if by doing so he was somehow awaking his psychic energy. _"You tell me a group has gone to a dimension beyond this one…to seek a hidden power source….I require only a piece of that power….It should be in the form of a sphere glowing with many colors, emblazoned with a peculiar symbol….Do you accept these terms?"_

Jigglypuff paused for a moment, thinking. _Well, what harm could a sphere possibly do in the hands of such a wise and powerful friend as Mewtwo?_ she thought.

"Puff!" Jigglypuff agreed.

"Chu!" Pichu acknowledged.

 _"Excellent,"_ Mewtwo said impassively, his eyes sparkling. _"Now let us proceed back to your headquarters."_

Pichu and Jigglypuff jumped excitedly and pointed towards the Poltergust 4000.

Mewtwo laughed—the first actual sound he'd uttered. _"Let us not waste time traveling on a silly machine such as that! I will Teleport us there with my mind…."_

Mewtwo closed his eyes again, this time in concentration, and with a twinkling flash the three Pokémon and the vehicle vanished from the lake, which closed in on the hole and returned to its normal glass-like appearance.

* * *

By now, Mario and the rest were becoming quite tired of appearing in worlds of varying dimensional depth and resolution; nevertheless, they found themselves in yet another bizarre world, this time with a 2.5-D perspective.

For, comical as it might seem, they were now in the world of _Paper Mario_ ; therefore, each of them were 2-D cartoons with roughly cut paper outlines. Mario, Luigi, and the Hammer Bros were accustomed to this appearance, but it was strange for them to have reverted to this state after such a long time—in fact, come to think of it, though the memories were there, Mario had no idea exactly how long it had been since he had taken this form, or even how he'd come to leave it behind. Mr. Game & Watch looked exactly the same except his white outline was thicker and looked like a cut-out. Dr. Mario appeared the same as Mario except with his doctor clothes, the Babies could no longer be carried on Mario and Luigi's back due to the fact that they were all paper-thin, and the Ice Climbers were amazed by their own simple coloring and the sudden lightness of their hammers. Again, G.W. underwent little change, except he now had a white paper outline.

To make things even more bizarre, the environment they found themselves in looked positively childish: They were in a large room shaped like a quarter-circle. The ground and walls were covered with poorly matching, brightly colored red tiles. There were giant red alphabet blocks stacked in clusters around the room. Finally, stretching across the room in an arc parallel to the curving wall behind them was what appeared to be a train track, which disappeared into tunnels on each of the two straight walls. In addition, there was a red boarding station in front of the railroad tracks and a red Shy Guy waiting at it with an official-looking hat. He appeared to be the boarding captain.

Mario, evidently familiar with Shy Guy's Toy Box, walked up to the red Shy Guy and began speaking with it.

The Shy Guy exclaimed, "Yeah, there were three weird Hammer Bros here just a couple minutes ago! They took the train, actually…I'm sorry, but if you want to find them, you'll have to go the long way…" It pointed to another opening near the curved wall on the right side. Mario nodded appreciatively and walked back to the group.

"It a-looks like we're going the long a-way."

"We'd better a-hurry before they get the Pencil as well…" Dr. Mario replied.

"Pen-cil?" Game & Watch asked, curious.

"Right!" General Hammo said. He pointed at the opening they were to go through. "Hammer Brigade A, forward, _march!_ "

The troops marched through the opening, three by three at widest. They entered another room which looked very similar to the first one except the tiles on the floor and walls, the boarding station, the giant playing blocks, and the Shy Guy waiting at the station were all blue.

But this time there was a small whirring, steaming train engine parked behind the boarding station, and three Hammer Bros were disappearing into an opening in the curved back wall.

"That wasn't much of a long way," Nana remarked.

"After them!" Hammo bellowed; the long line of Hammer Bros followed Mario, Dr. Mario, the Ice Climbers, and Mr. Game & Watch into the curved opening.

Inside they found a rectangular room with a tall pyramid of giant multi-colored blocks taking up most of the space. The three Hammer Bros were quickly climbing up the blocks.

"Hammer throw at will!" the General bellowed. All of the Hammer Bros tossed hammers at the three scaling figures. Two of the imposters were hit and fell down, but one avoided all of the projectiles and was about to reach the top…

…when Popo and Nana, using their famous cooperative jumping trick with their belay line, soared over the Hammer Bro and landed on the summit. The sneak began to turn around to flee, but was unable to escape before he was hit by two Freezies, tumbling down the block pyramid encased in ice.

The Ice Climbers clasped hands on the summit and raised their hammers with victorious smiles. They looked behind them and found a treasure chest. Lifting the lid, Popo pulled out a simple large pencil, short, thick, and unimpressive, but also notably 3-D in contrast to the rest of the paper world.

Once the imposters had finally been incapacitated by the other Hammer Bros, Dr. Mario took time to congratulate the Ice Climbers (who had climbed back down) on their achievement, and told them they could keep the Pencil for the time being.

"This a-Pencil will be a great aid to us in the war," Dr. Mario assured. "It can penetrate things a-nothing else can."

Popo and Nana were about to ask what exactly the Pencil did, but their attention was captivated by what was going on in front of them.

The three fake Hammer Bros began to shimmer and flicker between their former appearance and…something else. The group watched with bated breath; finally, the imposters who had troubled them during this whole interdimensional quest would be revealed. But the result was not quite what they expected, such as Duplighosts or other such imitators.

Even though they were paper, it was easy enough to tell that the outlines of the three figures were of Ganondorf, Mr. Game & Watch, and Mario. And each one had a distinct metallic sheen instead of actual color and features. They were metal.

But before they could say or do anything, the ground—no, the whole world—began to shake, and the paper world began to distort itself, walls fraying and sections of floor tearing apart..

"Mama mía!" Dr. Mario stumbled as colors mixed with other colors, shapes blurred, and most everything became hazy, almost psychedelic. "Did anyone leave a-something behind in _Super Mario Bros_?"

Mario looked over at Luigi and gasped. "Luigi! Where's your a-hat?"

Luigi felt above his head for his hat, but felt only his brown hair. "Oh, no!" he said, panicking.

"That would explain it." Dr. Mario sighed, shaking his head as the world was literally falling apart around them.

From the opening to the blue train station, a white-clad Shy-Guy, despite the chaos of the situation, remained remarkably calm, like a seasoned soldier, his distinguished military cap and medal-clad uniform giving him an impressive appearance for his size. He had been watching what happened with the block tower, but disappeared back into the opening before anyone noticed him. _A war, did they say?_ General Guy thought.

At last, the world was so horribly distorted and shaking so violently that nothing was recognizable; the colors swirled together until they meshed everything into kaleidoscopic chaos, which soon morphed into another otherworldly whiteness.

* * *

The first foreign fighters to arrive in Fourside City were the Pokémon. This was largely because the Kanto Region had been hit harder by Master Hand than perhaps any other kingdom, with the possible exception of Akaneia. Red and several other Kanto natives had had no trouble in mustering support for their cause in the hopes that the disaster of Saffron City would never be repeated.

The army of Pokémon was like no other. Rather than trained soldiers marching in lines with identical weapons, they came in scores of different species, large and small, fast and bulky, airborne and grounded, intermingled and seemingly unorganized. It was a mix of every kind of strength and talent, a true sign of the spirit of unity against their enemy. The interesting part of it was that neither Red nor his fellow trainers had needed to travel deep into their homeland to create a chain reaction summoning this conflux of creatures; the instincts of all Pokémon had already been aware since the Battle of Fourside City that war was coming, and they almost all agreed in supporting the cause of freedom against Master Hand's oppressive invasions.

However, at the present time, the Pokémon were the only ones who had reached the city so far, and information was sparse while time seemed to be steadily running out for the growing Smash Brothers. All Professor E. Gadd knew was that the messengers had been sent, and so far only the Pokémon had returned. He was not unduly worried about this, but at the same time he was growing anxious with the heavy responsibility that had been placed on his shoulders—he, a wizened, silly old scientist, and he was somehow supposed to rally an entire continent against an immeasurable enemy. He missed Impa now more than ever; she would know how to whip up everyone into shape.

Gadd received some much-needed good news when Pichu, Jigglypuff, and Mewtwo suddenly appeared right outside his lab. He had just been returning to the lab after talking for a while with Mumbo and Humba when they teleported in front of him as he approached the building.

"Pichu!" Pichu exclaimed, which meant something along the lines of, "Professor! We've brought Mewtwo!"

"Puff…." Jigglypuff rolled her eyes. By "Puff," she meant, "Thank you for stating the obvious, Pichu."

Mewtwo fixed Gadd with an appraising stare, his arms folded. _"So…you are the leader of these…Smash Brothers?"_ he communicated telepathically.

The professor did not seem even slightly intimidated by Mewtwo, but rather cheerful. "Yes, that's me! You must be Mewtwo. Pleased to meet you!" Gadd extended his hand as if to shake hands with Mewtwo, but getting the notion that Mewtwo was not the type of being to exchange such pleasantries, he retracted his hand. "Have these two discussed the purpose and goal of the Smash Brothers, and extended an invitation for you to join us?"

 _"Yes, they have,"_ Mewtwo responded. _"And I have agreed to assist your cause so long as certain…conditions…are met."_

Professor E. Gadd frowned. "Conditions? What might those be?"

Pichu and Jigglypuff proceeded to explain that Mewtwo desired a glowing sphere that was among the Dimension Relics.

The professor thought for a moment. "Well, I personally don't have a problem with that. But what if our friends return and were unable to obtain this item?"

 _"Then,"_ Mewtwo said simply, _"your cause will be doomed to failure."_ Without waiting for a reply, Mewtwo vanished with a flash.

Gadd blinked several times, a bit taken aback. "Gadzooks! Well, that was unruly!"

* * *

The blackness cleared. Everyone awoke to find themselves 3-D once more, which was a relief. However, if it was possible, they seemed a bit _too_ 3-D. Each individual was now even more well defined, detailed, and realistic than they were used to: Mario and Luigi could see remarkable texture on their overalls; the Ice Climbers' parkas were softer and fuzzier; the Hammer Bros' helmets now glinted with detail; Metal Mario, Mr. Game  & Watch, and Ganondorf had extremely well defined, shiny metallic features; and Mr. Game & Watch ―was still exactly the same. Also, for some reason, Dr. Mario's appearance had not changed at all from how he'd looked in the Smash Tournaments.

They stood on a single large chunk of floating earth with three small platforms spaced above it. On the Battlefield were small bushes and detailed dirt ground. Surrounding the floating landmass was a beautiful grassy landscape complete with mountains, streams, and a colorful setting sun, causing the sky to be ablaze with shades of yellow, orange, and pink.

Mario, like the others, was agape in wonder. "Where are we?"

Dr. Mario got up, looking at their surroundings. "If I am correct, the malfunction a-caused by Luigi caused the _Paper Mario_ and _Super Mario Bros_ dimensions to a-rub against each other; the force of the collision shot us up through the dimensional a-boundary, since we were at the center of the disturbance. We are a-now not in an old dimension, but a new one; we are in the future."

Oblivious to the shock of the others, Mr. Game & Watch did not look well. "The fut-ure?" he said faintly. "I can't take this ver-y long….I was just get-ting used to the nor-mal world…."

"Look!" The Ice Climbers simultaneously pointed up with their hammers. As the rest followed their gaze, they laid their eyes upon a miraculous ball, glowing with wondrous colors, and the circular insignia from the Smash Tournaments shining upon it.

"That," Dr. Mario said, "must be the final Dimension a-Relic."

Suddenly, the Smashers heard multiple cries and turned around to behold three Hammer Bros being smashed off the stage by the metal entities.

"Alright, then, a fight to the finish!" General Hammo hollered as he leapt toward the metal figures with a hammer raised.

The landmass, which now seemed rather small for the 28 Hammer Bros, 3 metal clones, and 8 others, was now rumbling with action as the metal clones bounded over the cluster of Hammer Bros and landed on the top platform.

"Watch out!" Dr. Mario cried as most of the Hammer Bros tried to jump onto the same platform. "They have a―" But Metal Ganondorf had already thrown the Pokéball which had been lying on the ground, and out of it came a huge Pokémon with red scales, a spiked tail, fiery yellow eyes, and monstrous claws.

"Groudon!" General Hammo yelled, but too late. Every single Hammer Bro besides the general had fallen into the clones' trap. The legendary Pokémon let out an earth-shaking roar, and its body encompassed itself with a massive flame, engulfing the remainder of General Hammo's Hammer Brigade A. Afterwards, Groudon vanished, leaving only black scorch marks and blackened helmets, hammers, and shells.

"YOU! WILL! PAY!" Hammo screamed, as the grieving general leapt onto the top platform and smashed Metal Ganondorf in the head with his hammer. The wood-handled weapon had nothing on solid iron, however, and it splintered in Hammo's hands against the metal head. Metal Ganondorf responded with a quick, brutal punch to the gut, knocking Hammo off of the high platform onto the Battlefield, unconscious.

"Let's a-go!" Mario, Luigi, and the Babies, along with the Ice Climbers, Game & Watch, and Dr. Mario, leapt onto the top platform. As they came up, however, Metal Mario did a sweeping kick, knocking away the Ice Climbers, Dr. Mario, Mario, and Luigi. The Babies jumped off of their older selves' backs as they fell, and they slammed Metal Mario with their stone hammers, knocking it off the platform.

Meanwhile, Mr. Game & Watch shook a small black manhole beneath Metal Mr. Game & Watch, knocking it off as well.

As soon as they did this, Metal Ganondorf shoved the Babies and Game & Watch with its shoulder, its purple magic scorching the heroes as they fell.

"No!" Dr. Mario made to stop the doppelganger, but before he or anyone else could return to the top platform, Metal Ganondorf jumped, double jumped, and then performed a third jump, grabbing the glowing sphere at the height of the feat.

And as if by some otherworldly force, the three metal imposters flickered in and out of existence, more and more frequently until they were gone.

"Babies!" Mario and Luigi cried, for both of the Babies were unconscious. They gently picked up the tiny bodies and placed them on their backs.

Dr. Mario, Game & Watch, Popo, and Nana looked at the devastated Battlefield: scorch marks, burning shells and hammers, General Hammo's motionless body. The sun had now set behind them, and the dizzyingly detailed night was dark, cold, still, and lonely.

"We've got to a-go to your world," Dr. Mario said, looking grimly at Hammo. "They have two of the Dimension a-Relics; we have a-three. There can be no more delay; we must join your Smash a-Brothers and fight a-back."

With that, Dr. Mario threw a red and yellow Megavitamin, creating a rip in the dimensional fabric that opened into the lobby of the Grande Snifit Hotel.

First Dr. Mario; then Mr. Game & Watch, followed by Mario and Luigi carrying the injured Babies; and lastly, Popo and Nana, carrying Hammo's body. The heroes filed through the rift, their mission partially accomplished. But the cost...This had been no victory.


	20. Chapter 17: The Gathering (1)

Chapter 17: The Gathering

* * *

"… **A** nd that's how we a-journeyed to and escaped the Dimension Conflux with a-three of the Dimension Relics," Mario finished explaining to the professor while cradling the unconscious Baby Mario in his arms.

The survivors of the previous ordeal in the future Battlefields were gathered wearily (or unconsciously) inside Professor E. Gadd's lab, and they had been taking turns relaying each part of their strange venture into the Dimension Conflux, from which much had been gained and lost. The professor listened along with Banjo, Kazooie, and Mewtwo, the latter having appeared instinctively when his psychic powers had alerted him to the adventurers' return. The Babies breathed harshly from their future selves' arms, and General Hammo lay in critical condition in the hospital. Other than that, the original party minus the Hammer Bro battalion was there. In the short time since their return, Dr. Mario had already established himself as a definitive member of the Smash Brothers and the leading authority on the Dimension Conflux.

As the survivors talked, the listeners rarely if ever interrupting, they gazed at the complex technological machines and wonders in the lab around them: steaming pipes, flashing buttons and switches, spinning wheels and pistons, multicolored electricity bouncing inside glass domes and spheres and tubes, and much more.

"So let me get this straight," Kazooie said. "You left with fifty Hammer Bros and lost _all of them?_ It sounds like they were no help at all!"

"Well, ac-tu-al-ly, no," Game and Watch replied. "When we were at-tacked by the Vi-rus-es, we would ne-ver have made it out a-live with-out their help. The met-al fol-low-ers could al-so have ta-ken us out by sur-prise if we had been a-lone…."

"But still," E. Gadd said with regret, "this is a terrible loss, and we can only hope the Hammer Bros' sacrifice will not have been in vain. Three out of five isn't bad, I suppose, but it may be harder with some of the Dimension Relics working against us…which ones exactly did Master Hand's cronies make off with?"

"We have the Reset a-Button, the Life Shroom, and the Pencil," Dr. Mario explained, "and Master Hand has the Superstar and the…um…what should we a-call it…the Smash Ball?"

At this, Mewtwo's eyes seemed to kindle with a dark flame. _"The Smash Ball is in Master Hand's grasp? This is an ill fate indeed, yet not hopeless since it has been found. Obtaining this item must be among our top priorities. Without the Smash Ball, all will be lost. Truthfully, I had originally wanted its power for myself…but the important thing now is that we retrieve it before it is too late…."_

"Hmm…." the professor pondered the Pokémon's words with his hand on his chin. "Everything you've told us points toward one course of action: attacking Master Hand across the Battlefields, in his own domain, in his own fortress." He turned to the returned travelers. "I cannot thank you enough for the great asset you've brought to our side from this expedition, but now it is time to move on. The time to wage our last battle against Master Hand draws near, and I expect the rest of our army to be arriving soon…."

"Wait," Luigi said, "what should we a-do with the Dimension Relics that we a-have?"

"Keep them for now. We shouldn't need them until the battle, and I can't think of anyone else I trust more to hold onto them than the ones who found them." He nodded to Dr. Mario, who possessed the Reset Button, and the Ice Climbers, who bore the Pencil.

"In that a-case," said Dr. Mario, "the Life a-Shroom belongs to you, Luigi. After all, you're the one who…found it."

Dark thoughts entered Luigi's mind, but he gratefully accepted the large green mushroom, trying to ignore Mario's chuckle beside him. He had resolved to never attempt to jump onto a flag again.

"Before we part, I think I'm forgetting something important, but I can't quite think what it is." Gadd racked his brain, but to no avail.

"Well, has the Dimension Door been locked?" Banjo asked.

Professor E. Gadd smacked himself on the forehead. "Thank you, Banjo! No, it hasn't. We'd better hurry and lock that so that no one else accidentally goes in…or out….Where is the key, anyway?"

Mario reached into the bib on his overalls and pulled out the shiny key. "Right a-here, professor." He handed the key to Gadd.

"Thank you, Mario. What does the N.D. stand for, anyway? Did anyone ever figure that out? Is it New Dimension?"

Dr. Mario chuckled. "No, actually. It simply a-means Not Digestible. If someone were to a-swallow it, it would remain inside you and a-cause all sorts of internal problems. Trust me, I a-know." He winked. "I'm a doctor."

* * *

At this point in the story, the goals and visions of the Smash Brothers were zoning in on one purpose, and one only: to strike down Master Hand and his followers, forever ridding the Nintendo World of not necessarily all evil, but of evil of the worst kind―one that seeks not only world domination, but control over creation and individuality itself, something not even Ganondorf or Bowser could equal. This purpose coincided with the objective of rescuing those who had been imprisoned as trophies.

But of course, in order to fulfill this vision, there were many smaller goals that had to be accomplished to bring them closer to their vision, and many steps that had to be taken in order to reach each of their goals. The goal of alerting the Nintendo World and unifying them against Master Hand had been accomplished. Now the task of greatest concern was guiding supporters to the designated meeting place in Fourside City, and training them sufficiently in order to face what they expected to be an inferior but much more numerous host of Wire Frames.

Over the next several days, many things of significance took place. The weary travelers rejuvenated from their singular experience in the Dimension Conflux. General Hammo slowly recovered from his physical ailments, but he was forever changed; there seemed to be a part of his fierce and commanding personality that was no longer there. Bowser had successfully finished gathering his contribution to the army, which was great to behold: Hundreds each of Koopas, Goombas, Paratroopas, Hammer Bros, Lakitus, and nearly every other Mario enemy that could be named (with the notable exception of the Boos) joined the congregation of Pokémon on the barren plain in the northern outskirts of Fourside City. This force, although slightly larger than the swarms of Pokémon, was more orderly, and each unit of a particular Mushroom Kingdom species seemed almost identical to the rest.

The Training Dojo continued to buzz with activity and rapid progress, and every day more and more new recruits came into the lobby and applied for the training program. Those who had completed their training joined the ranks of the growing army in northern Fourside, and those few who had passed the Intense difficulty constituted the leading officers of the various divisions.

One day, the Smash Brothers who were assigned to watch the city's southern borders cheered at the approaching force proceeding from the Kongo Jungle, which was led by Donkey Kong and his family—with the exception of Diddy Kong, who was nowhere to be seen.

Behind the ape was not a particularly large group of fighters, but one that emanated a wild enthusiasm. There were perhaps a hundred or so monkeys of varying species, the most recognizable among them including Funky Kong with a huge pack of artillery strapped to his back, Candy Kong strutting alongside Donkey Kong, and Kiddy Kong, Chunky's younger brother, piggybacking Cranky behind them. Also among them were other notable animals of the Kongo Jungle: Squawks the Parrot, Rambi the Rhinoceros, Expresso the Ostrich, Squitter the Spider, Ellie the Elephant, and other tropical creatures. The monkeys and other animals, in contrast to Bowser's orderly troops, jumped and clapped, snorted and hollered, pressing forward like a half-controlled rampage.

The witnesses were somewhat disappointed by the lack of numbers representing the jungle region, but only before, like a great mechanical winged beast, King K. Rool's airship appeared over the edge of the woods, the giant propeller that kept it airborne creating large gusts of wind which caused trees to sway and hair to fly back in the strong breeze. Its gigantic metal hull, shaped in the likeness of a Klaptrap (a small crocodile), soared over the Kongs like a harbinger of destruction. This thing was capable of holding hundreds of reptilian creatures, Kremlings and the like, and as such reversed the feelings of the momentarily disappointed spectators.

DK and the other creatures below did not look surprised, however, and it was apparent that Donkey Kong had managed to strike some sort of deal or truce with his old foe. The airship and the animals approached the city, and after about an hour of discussion with the representative Smash Brothers in the area, they moved on through the mostly-ruined city to join the army miles away.

When asked about Diddy's whereabouts, all Donkey Kong could say was, "Diddy said there was somewhere else he had to go, and took off with that jetpack of his not long after we reached Cranky's cabin."

Within the next four days, two more small armies representing their regions arrived from Akaneia and Dreamland, the former through the Wire Frame Pods that were still attached to the inner walls of their dragon-ravaged city, and the latter through the remaining Pod that still existed in the basement of the destroyed Silph Co. in Saffron City.

Princess Nyna led a three hundred-strong company of swordsmen with another hundred pike-wielding cavalry on the wings helping to speed the regiment along. Each soldier was clad in smooth silver armor and helmeted with the same, and filed with dignity into the Smash Brothers' gathering place. It was evident that they would need very little additional training before going into battle.

And Dreamland, coming forth less than a day later, looked to be among the feeblest of forces with so many tiny creatures making up its ranks: Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos, Gordos, Cappys, and all manner of diminutive beings which have been known to grant Kirby various Copy Abilities when swallowed. Fortunately, this company numbered over seven hundred, and was led, of course, by the self-appointed King Dedede himself.

To add to this legion, Meta Knight glided with fifty of his Star Warriors, who were similar in size to himself, brandishing swords, axes, or maces, and clad in armor of various kinds. Long ago, when eNeMeE, or Nightmare, had waged war on their galaxy, most of the Star Warriors had been destroyed, with only Kirby and Meta Knight remaining. However, since Nightmare's defeat at Kirby's hand, this organization had slowly begun to regenerate members and at this point comprised fifty capable fighters, which was plenty considering the rigorous training required to become a Star Warrior. Meta Knight's companion, Blade Knight, who had perished during the Battle of Fourside, had been one of these.

Surprisingly, not long after the arrival of the legion of Dreamland, a cluster of at least a hundred Topis and Polar Bears followed from Icicle Mountain on an instinct similar to the Pokémon's; from their icy home, they could easily see that something was amiss in the world, and had congregated to do whatever was in their power to help fix the problem. The Polar Bears, with their sunglasses and pink swimming trunks, trudged on two feet, causing the ground to shake around them with each step. The miniature abominable snowmen known as Topis each pushed a Freezie along, not fully knowing what they were getting into.

* * *

Luigi lay on his bed in the small hotel room he shared with Baby Luigi and all three Marios, staring at the Life Shroom beside him. He sure hoped that he wouldn't need to use it, although with a war coming up, zero casualties was a bit too much to hope for; many had already died, and they hadn't even faced Master Hand head on yet. He thought about the long journey that had brought him from his peaceful home in the Mushroom Kingdom to the ruins of a once-great city on the other side of the Nintendo World. He had never before been outside the Mushroom Kingdom or Beanbean Kingdom except for the Smash Tournaments or to visit surrounding islands such as Rogueport. How had it come to this? He had departed from his home with Kirby and Mr. Game & Watch, not sure what to expect, but he had never thought that their endeavor lead to open war between everything he knew and loved (including many that he didn't know or love, even Bowser) and the might of the Hands and their followers.

Luigi looked to his left through the open window to see Meta Knight and his Star Warriors consorting with Kirby. They appeared to treat the pink puffball with great respect.

"You are one of us," Sword Knight said with a note of reverence. "Ever since you defeated Nightmare, we have hailed you as the greatest Star Warrior to have ever arisen."

"Indeed," Meta Knight said with equal respect, although with the tiniest hint of irritability. "You must now lead us, Kirby, against this last and greatest of our enemies. Master Hand has already claimed the life of Blade Knight, and we must avenge his death. We will be honored to follow you." With that, Meta Knight motioned to the other Star Warriors. Each of them simultaneously made a sort of bow to Kirby, who stared back at them with a rather aloof expression, and in one fluid motion, they took off and went to join the larger army. Luigi watched as Kirby seemed to remember something, then hobbled away.

Luigi's mind then turned to a completely unrelated subject. For years he had been wondering about his rather dormant love life; Mario seemed to have Princess Peach in the bag, and they were an obvious match, but what about him? In recent years he had begun to take a mild interest in Princess Daisy of Sarasaland, who seemed to complement Peach as much as he himself complemented Mario. However, Luigi didn't quite feel completely comfortable around Daisy: she was a bit too tomboyish and spunky, whereas he was timid and clumsy. _Maybe I'll never meet anyone right for me,_ he thought glumly. _Maybe none of us will even make it out of this alive._

* * *

Another week passed by, and then finally came the other side of the Mushroom Kingdom's forces (those not serving under King Bowser). As neither Princess Peach nor the Mario Brothers had been there to lead them, the Toads, some of the same species as Bowser's army loyal to the Princess, and others merged with the royal guard of the Beanbean Kingdom, and all were under the direction of Prince Peasley. There were about two hundred Beanish warriors, while the mixed throng from the Mushroom Kingdom numbered to nearly a thousand, for the land contained a diverse and numerous range of denizens, each of which craved a chance in the spotlight—or at least the opportunity to be in the action. Among them were all of Mario's old partners from the days of Bowser's reign with the Star Rod as well as those of the X-Nauts' scheming: Parakarry the Paratroopa (and mailman), Bombette the Bob-omb, Lakilester the Lakitu, Flurry the…lavender ghost thing, Ms. Mowz the Mouser, and all the rest.

Later that day came an impressive host of warriors from Hyrule, traveling via the Wire Frame Pod in Beanbean Castle Town. Link and Young Link had made short work of returning to their homeland and gathering all those who were willing to fight for the freedom of their kingdom. There were two hundred each of Hylian soldiers, Gorons, and even the Zoras (although they generally dwelt in water, they were capable of traveling amphibiously on land as well). Particularly sticking out among the Goron race was the gigantic Biggoron, which was the size of about a dozen Golems; those surrounding him gave him a wide berth just in case he happened to trip over a tree or something. Also among them were young men who came from agricultural dwellings such as Lon Lon Ranch.

The big surprise of this multitude was that behind the representative forces of the traditional Hylian races was a horde of Ganondorf's minions: Octoroks, Moblins, Tektites, Likelikes, Iron Knuckles, and the like. Ganondorf had summoned his followers using the Triforce of Power; he had ultimate control over all of them, so there was no need to worry about any sort of contention against their Hylian counterparts. The Host of Hyrule, as it was called, numbered well over a thousand.

As Link and Young Link directed the Host of Hyrule toward the other forces, Biggoron stopped in front of them and said, "Link, I have something for you." Pinched between his massive thumb index finger, like a toothpick, was a long, large sword with a two-handed hilt.

Young Link grabbed at it in excitement. "Wow! That's a big sword! Thank you, sir!"

Biggoron gave a loud, resonating laugh, and pulled it away. "Not for you, young one. For the Hero of Time."

The older Link took the Biggoron sword from its maker. "Thank you," he said, smirking at his younger self.

"But I am…or I'm going to be…not fair!" Young Link complained, jumping up and down trying to grab the sword while Link held it just out of his reach.

"This sword is too heavy for you anyway," Link said with a smile. He gave the sword a couple swings, the blade slicing powerfully through the air. "Here, you try." Link handed the Biggoron sword to his younger self, who struggled with his skinny arms to lift it into the air, causing Link to laugh. "But be caref―"

Young Link had finally managed to lift the sword, but it was so heavy that he tottered beneath it, and brought it down by accident onto the face of a large rock. With a _snap_ , the Biggoron sword broke in two.

There was silence. Link looked at the broken sword, then at Young Link's guilty face, then at Biggoron above him. "You're actually the brother of the legendary sword maker, aren't you?"

Biggoron laughed. "Well, of course I am! My brother had to wait a little before coming over because his eyes were irritated again. But don't worry, I won't charge you a single rupee." The giant Goron then moved on with the rest of the host.

Link glared at Young Link, who was still holding half of the sword. "I hope you're happy―" Seeing Gadd approaching with something in his hands, he quickly hid his annoyance and turned to the leader of the Smash Brothers, pretending that nothing was wrong.

"Hello, Link, and…er…Link!" The professor carried another Biggoron sword in his hands unsteadily. "I saw that little incident there, but don't worry. I found this beauty a little while ago and stabbed the eye of Piranha Gohma with it, so I don't think it'll break quite as easily. Take it!" He handed the sword to the stunned Link and walked away.

"Piranha Gohma?" was all he could say.

* * *

At this point, there were only a few regions which had yet to send their support. Another week passed by, but no more came that week except for stragglers from other mainland regions. But once again, this did not worry Professor E. Gadd, for he figured the outer islands and other planets ought to be allowed more time to travel from such distant lands, whereas the mainland regions, with several known Wire Frame Pod locations spread throughout, could more quickly move a large number of people or creatures across a great distance. What worried the professor the most was if they were giving Master Hand too much time, and whether they would be able to consolidate their army quickly enough to be able to strike first this time.

Finally, two weeks after the arrival of the Host of Hyrule and the Mushroom Kingdom's army, representatives of the outer islands crowded into Fourside after a long journey over land and sea. Yoshi and Toadsworth (the older, present-day one) were the ones leading the company. There were over three hundred multicolored Yoshis from Yoshi's Island, pushing forward like a moving rainbow. About a hundred and fifty Piantas, Nokis (shell people), and other residents of Delfino Island joined them.

Then there were a hundred strange soldiers similar to Toads in appearance, but at the same time very different. In place of mushrooms on their heads, they sported what appeared to be muffins, coming in assorted flavors including blueberry, chocolate, and poppy seed; also, their skin tone was darker and tanner than that of Toads. As Gadd soon learned and Luigi later explained, these hailed from the little-known but nevertheless existent Waffle Kingdom. While Mario had been off fighting the X-Nauts and the Shadow Queen in Rogueport, Luigi had gone off on an adventure of his own to the Waffle Kingdom on a quest to rescue Princess Éclair. The kingdom was somewhat near Yoshi's Island off the southwest coast of Kongo Jungle, the dozen islands forming the rough shape of a waffle. Their leader, the Chestnut King, had the appearance of a large human with an enormous chestnut for a head with black beady eyes and a crown that resembled a golden muffin. Many strange looks were given to this obscure people and its strange-looking king, but Luigi assured the Smash Brothers that these were among the most dedicated and loyal allies anyone could ask for.

And from the skies above Fourside's outskirts, a massive cloud of spacecrafts descended thanks to the efforts of Teams Star Wolf and Star Fox, who were among them. Most significant in this large unit was the famous Cornerian Fleet: hundreds of Arwings in impressive formations lowering through the thick overcast clouds, dozens of command ships with heavy-duty weaponry descending with them like a flock of laser-bearing birds.

"Woo hoo!" Dash Bowman had abandoned his professional persona as he soared through the crisp morning air, having been bored ever since their conflict with the Aparoids back on Corneria. Finally a chance to prove himself to General Pepper in the field—maybe even earn himself a promotion.

Finally, despite the fact that Samus was not present, a squad made up of ten of her fellow (or rival) Bounty Hunters arrived beside the Cornerian Fleet, each in their own unique spaceship, presumably courtesy of Sylux and Gandrayda.

Fox had purposely directed his team as well as Star Wolf to stay away from Dinosaur Planet, otherwise known as Sauria, for personal reasons (although his ongoing romance with its female fox defender, Krystal, was not exactly a secret). It felt good for the team to be together once again, but while Slippy joined Fox and Falco in his own Arwing, Peppy was now too old to safely do so, so he remained in the Great Fox with ROB the Robot and a few Cornerian officers to man the turrets. His injuries had healed as much as they were going to, but the old hare had been weakened greatly by his near-fatal wound from Piranha Gohma. Wolf had an influence over a large number of space scoundrels across the galaxy, so he had managed convince a significant number of his outlaw acquaintances to accompany him from Sargasso Hideout and temporarily join the ranks of the Cornerian Fleet—just for the sake of excitement.

Of all the companies of the Smash Brothers' army, this division struck the most awe out of those watching their descent. So much futuristic technology and machinery gathered together, yet they were there for the same purpose as even the most insignificant Goomba or Waddle Dee.

Representatives from Mute City were conspicuously absent; Gadd had been in communication with Dr. Clash and Jody Summer, but the latter had told him that she'd had no luck trying to convince the Federation to lend their support, considering the war a localized conflict outside their jurisdiction and interests.

* * *

For two weeks more the training and gathering of the Smash Brothers continued, growing ever stronger and more confident in its bolstered numbers. They began looking toward the Battlefields, for the army was reaching the point where it would be ready for an assault on Master Hand's turf. However, at the end of the two weeks, Diddy Kong and the Rito Postman still hadn't returned, and Professor E. Gadd as well as several others wanted to wait for them before launching their campaign.

One day, Ness was looking out from the top of a newly constructed wall cutting off Fourside City from the Battlefields. As ever, it flashed between white and purple, the most unsettling acres he had ever laid eyes upon. Ness had recovered from his long ordeal inside Master Hand's Fortress, but he was still terrified by the idea of reentering those foreboding lands, even with a magnificent army alongside him. His dark memories made him wary of how dangerous it would be to just charge through Master Hand's domain with no knowledge of how powerful he had truly become.

But as Professor E. Gadd had explained to the Original 25 in a private meeting about a week ago, the last five of the Smashers were in Master Hand's grasp, and there was absolutely no alternative, no other solution other than infiltrating the abnormally large Room and rescuing them so that Master Hand and Crazy Hand could finally be defeated, fulfilling Clairvoya's prophecy. An underground attack had been made impossible because the tunnel leading past their old headquarters had caved in, no doubt by Metal Bowser as it after the Wire Frames had completed their murderous handiwork. By land it was to be, then. No flanking, no surprise. Head-on.

Ness was interrupted from his thoughts as he gazed out into the Battlefields, which seemed to him an inevitable snare that had no other purpose than to hand them over to Master Hand on a silver platter. The psychic youth spotted, a few miles distant beyond the wall, a single black speck against the purple landscape moving toward them. It was small but very quick, and approaching them at this velocity it would be at the gate within a few minutes.

"Look!" Ness called to the guards along the gate, primarily Toads. They gasped at the sight of the looming black figure. Two of them began running toward Gadd's laboratory to alert the professor of this news.

From nowhere, Mewtwo's humanoid yet catlike figure Teleported next to Ness. He turned to him and fixed him with a hard stare, as if testing his mental competence. Finally, Mewtwo spoke telepathically, _"I sense a great mind. You are strong in the ways of PSI, I gather?"_

Ness nodded hesitantly, still rather frightened of this powerful-looking Pokémon and his mighty aura, even though he recognized the cat from the Smash Tournaments. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at the incoming speck. Somehow, despite his fear, Ness knew he could trust Mewtwo with any of his concerns.

Mewtwo turned his gaze to the small black figure approaching the gate and communicated, _"This…is a being formerly full of hatred, now only of grief. I would venture to guess that he comes directly from Master Hand's room with news, although of ill or good, I cannot tell...I sense we have encountered this person before, but he is no danger to us any longer…."_

Ness considered Mewtwo's words, but then was once again interrupted from his thoughts as Professor E. Gadd's airborne hovercraft landed behind the gate, and the diminutive inventor hastily scrambled out of his vehicle and came up a small flight of stairs to where they stood on the wall, panting.

"Whew…I came as fast as I could. What is this approaching figure that I hear of?" Ness and Mewtwo simply pointed out to the Battlefields, and Gadd then saw that it was now within a mile of the gate, but showing no obvious signs of aggression—just steadiness in its course. "Gadzooks!" The professor instructed the guards to open the gate but bar the figure's entrance.

They waited until he finally reached the gate, and when he had, his identity was clear. With the red streaks amid the spiky black fur and the white boots, Shadow the Hedgehog could not be mistaken.

"Halt! State your name and business!" one of the Toad guards ordered, assuming his full three feet of height as imposingly as he could. Gadd watched Shadow with an inscrutable expression from the other side of the open gate, but he knew exactly who this was and what he had done.

Shadow had changed. His black and red fur was no longer sleek, but frazzled and disarrayed, and he had a deep cut along his right arm as well as a large bruise on his left eye. His eyes had a grievous but frantic look: the passionate flames which had once burned within them were extinguished.

Shadow's voice was weak and croaking. "My name is Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog. I was once called the Ultimate Life Form, but can no longer claim this title. Please allow me to explain myself before you arrest me….I have made a terrible mistake…."

The guards looked at Gadd, who nodded and said, "Let him in."

"Right this way," the same soldier told Shadow, and led him through the gate to where the professor stood. The guards took up positions on either side of the black hedgehog in case he attacked. Mewtwo and Ness watched intently from the wall above.

Professor E. Gadd was calm, but seemed to be holding in a lot of anger, and spoke testily as a result. It was a side of Gadd that neither Ness nor even Mario or Luigi had ever seen, but it did perhaps help explain why the professor had been chosen to lead the Smash Brothers in Impa's wake before anyone else.

"Now, Shadow. I've let you into this city because I couldn't think of a sinister reason that you would come to us so openly. But that doesn't mean I trust you in the least; you had better have a lot to say, because unless you convince me otherwise, you'll be locked up right away for the terrible things you've done. Do you understand?"

Shadow did not seem offended by Gadd's harsh words, but nodded as he stared at the ground. Then he looked up directly into the professor's eyes. "I am well aware of the pain I've caused. By helping Master Hand arrange the tournament, I wounded many and killed dozens…and doomed a few to an even worse fate. Let me explain how I know this.

"After the Battle of Fourside, I retreated into the Battlefields and returned to Master Hand's Room. They offered me 'sanctuary' in their fortress. I had never been there; I only knew they were using it to create their trophy collection. But then I saw…." Shadow closed his eyes as if blinded by the pain of the memory. "They took Sonic. He wasn't even part of the Original 25, yet Master Hand had promised to spare my friends when I agreed to work for him.

"I confronted Crazy Hand about it, but he just said that Sonic had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and it would be the fate of anyone who stood in their way. I pretended to accepted what he said, but somehow he sensed my disillusionment and had several metal Smashers ambush me to take me out of the picture. I barely escaped with my life using Chaos Control. I ran for my life, through the mouse hole and across the Battlefields, and now I'm here."

Shadow's fists were clenched, though it was impossible to tell whether it was out of anger at Master Hand's duplicity, frustration with himself, or some other reason. "I offer no excuse for my actions. I now see the true evilness of Master Hand's plan; all I have to offer is the very deepest of apologies, however little that may mean to you. I do not ask for your forgiveness, but I would very much like to join the Smash Brothers in your final campaign, if you'll have me. What say you?"

Professor E. Gadd stared long and hard at Shadow, as if analyzing whether he was truly sincere about what he had said. Then he smiled warmly. "I say, welcome to Fourside City, young'un. I can tell that you mean what you've said, and I believe in giving everyone a second chance. There would be no sense in turning you away at this point anyways; Master Hand would destroy you if you were ever to show your face in his domain again."

Shadow's expression became one of great relief, and nodded. "True. But that circumstance may soon arise. For I also come with urgent news. Master Hand's army is marching across the Battlefields toward us as we speak. They move slowly, but only because of the sheer greatness of their numbers. If you have any sort of army mustered, now would be the time to attack."

The professor almost wasn't surprised by this news. He knew they had spent too much time in preparation. They would have to proceed without Diddy Kong and the Rito Postman after all. "So it is. And there would be no reason to wait for them to reach here; if we are to fall to Master Hand in the end, we can at least preserve what is left of Fourside City by striking his forces in his own land. Thank you for this information, Shadow. You are beginning to regain my trust."

"Thank you in turn for showing mercy and giving me a second chance—even though I don't deserve it. I am forever indebted to your cause. When will you strike?"

"The day after tomorrow. The Battlefields stretch on for a number of miles, but if left unhindered, Master Hand could easily reach here within the week. There's no time to waste. Come with me as I share this news with the rest of the Smash Brothers and explain your change of heart." Gadd led Shadow to his hovercraft. He then turned to Ness and Mewtwo. "You two may come along if you'd like." He addressed the guards. "Close the gate. Notify me immediately if there's any news." He and Shadow climbed into the hovercraft, then turned to Ness and Mewtwo, waiting.

Ness began to step forward as if to join them, but Mewtwo halted him with a hand on the shoulder. Ness gave him an inquisitive look.

 _"Come with me,"_ Mewtwo urged. _"There are a few things I desire to teach you before this battle the day after tomorrow."_


	21. Chapter 17: The Gathering (2)

So it was that the announcement was made to the entire body of Smash Brothers that afternoon of their sudden lack of time. Final preparations were made: Weapons and armor were distributed appropriately, the Training Dojo was closed for organizational reasons, and the evening's activities ended early to allow everyone a plentiful night's sleep.

Early the next day, the generals and leaders met in a surviving business building near the norther city border to consult about various issues. This included Gadd, Prince Peasley, Banjo & Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo, Humba Wumba, Meta Knight, King Dedede, King K. Rool, Shadow, Toadsworth, the Chestnut King, Darunia, General Pepper, Princess Nyna, Sylux, Wolf O' Donnell, Red, and the Original 25 (or 20 of them in any case, 21 counting both Popo and Nana). The 39 occupants of a spacious boardroom on the 5th floor sat around a large elliptical glass table. Each had their own chair except for Pichu who sat on Bowser's head, and Jigglypuff who settled on the table near the map shared by Mewtwo and Ganondorf. Around the edges of the circle were several maps of the Nintendo World and a close-up of the Battlefields-Fourside City area. On the larger map in front of Gadd were small figurines representing each division of the army (a Goomba for Goombas, Arwing for Cornerian Fleet, etc.)

But before consorting the maps, the professor had something else to address first. He stood up after the room had quieted down, although he was not much taller when standing than when sitting down. Gadd cleared his throat. "Fellow leaders, generals, and other significant persons of the Nintendo World," he began, "I welcome you to this the first officially complete gathering of the Smash Brothers' army. Although Diddy Kong and the Rito Postman are missing at the moment, as you know, we have no time left to wait for them, and if they'd been here, we wouldn't have needed them for this council in any case." He cleared his throat again. "The time has come, as war draws upon us, that I must inform all of you who don't already know of a key factor in this fight against Master Hand, and an important journey which has been undergone to help ensure our victory…"

Professor E. Gadd went on to explain the significance of the Original 25, and why they would all be needed if success was to be hoped for. He told them of Pikachu, Princess Peach, Princess Zelda, Captain Falcon, and Samus who were now, regrettably, part of Master Hand's trophy collection inside his fortress or imprisoned (he added this at a look from Link and Young Link). He explained that this was why they needed to invade the Battlefields, Master Hand's Room, and ultimately his fortress in order for their success to be made possible. Hopefully once they had overcome the fortress, they would find a way to change the trophies back to normal, and so be able to finally destroy Master Hand and his left-handed counterpart.

The bespectacled leader of the Smash Brothers then divulged why Mario and the others had traveled to the Dimension Conflux, what had occurred there, and what had been accomplished and lost. He called upon Dr. Mario, Luigi, and Popo to each hold out their piece of the Dimension Relics, and told them to use these items wisely according to their own discretion. Mewtwo cut in here and emphasized how crucial it was that they recover the two parts which had been seized by their enemy: the Superstar and the Smash Ball; for with these objects in Master Hand's grasp, who knew what havoc could be wrought with them?

Finally, the professor directed the council's attention to the map, holding a long pointer with which he could move around the small figurines on the map. "Now, taking all of these factors into consideration, there are several objectives which will need to be accomplished. First and foremost, Master Hand's armies must be held back so they cannot break through and encompass us or invade other lands. This will be the duty of the majority of our army. Second, we need a force to penetrate to this spot here…" Gadd pointed with the baton at a spot on the Battlefields right below Master Hand's Room. "…and destroy the jelly-like pods from which Wire Frames are produced. Unless we get rid of all of these, Master Hand can continue to reproduce Wire Frames endlessly, and that, well, is simply not a good thing." He chuckled.

"Lastly, and most imperatively, while all this is going on, a smaller, inconspicuous company must penetrate with as little loss as possible through Master Hand's legions in a direct course to Master Hand's Room, where they will need to overtake the fortress and find a way to reverse the effects of the Trophy Transformer, as I like to call it. Any questions so far?"

At this point several hands rose at once. Gadd called on the first one he saw. "Yes, Fox?"

"What will you have our airborne forces do, professor?"

"Ah! Good question," Gadd said, "but I will assign all of the positions after all other questions are answered. We'll come back to that. Who else?"

He called next on Popo, who had his hand raised next to Nana. "How are we going to find the Superstar and the Smash Ball?"

"Though Metal Mario, Ganondorf, and Game & Watch were the ones who made off with them, we haven't any idea who'll be in possession of these items during the battle, or where they'll be," Gadd explained. "Just keep an eye out for them."

Meta Knight spoke up. "I have two questions. Do we plan on leaving any defenses here tomorrow?"

Gadd replied, "Well, no; the whole purpose of most of our army, as I said, will be to hold them back. And if this endeavor fails, there'll be no reason to be defending what is impossible to defend. Does that make sense?"

The cloaked knight nodded. "And my other thought. Forgive me for sounding pessimistic, but in consideration of every possible outcome, who shall take leadership of the Smash Brothers should both you and I fall?"

This created somewhat of an angry uproar from some of the others, but Darunia quieted them all with one of his trademark bellows. "Go on, professor," he said with a look of satisfaction.

Gadd did not look offended. "No, everyone, Meta Knight's question is quite reasonable. Anything could happen out there. And in answer, Meta Knight, the position of leader of the Smash Brothers would then fall to Mario, then Link, and then the rest of the Original 25 in the order in which they were invited to Master Hand's tournaments. Although if any of them were to perish, I don't know whether victory would be possible at that point…but anyhow, that's the way it'll work. Others?"

"Do you have any idea how glad I am the Shadow Queen's gone for good?" However, this came from the doorway, and grouped together in the entrance were the long-forgotten Shadow Sirens, who had disappeared during the tournament over a month ago. Beldam, in front, was the one who had spoken, a perpetually nasty grin below her crooked blue witch's hat as always. Marilyn's and Vivian's dark forms rose up from the ground on either side of her, Vivian's gaze sweeping the table and stopping when it had found Mario.

A sense of pleasant surprise swept through the majority of the table, but Mario was the only one to respond. "What a-happened to you in the tournament?" As Mario looked into Vivian's rosy smiling face, the pink curl of hair presumably covering her eyes, in his mind flashed the memories of their past adventures: the time he had first fought the Shadow Sirens in the Boggly Woods; the day when Vivian had joined his party in Twilight Town; the crucial role she played in the fight against the Shadow Queen in the Palace of Shadow; and their eventual parting in Rogueport, when she had begun to say something, but said instead, "…never mind. I'm sure you and Peach will make a great couple. Goodbye." During those times he had simply considered Vivian one of his partners and companions, but now he felt a fleeting whisper of a strange attraction he had never felt before….

Beldam explained how they had stumbled upon the Shadow Hand inside the finalists' lobby, but had not been able to escape. "We were plunged into the deepest darkness you can imagine…trapped where couldn't see or feel anything…that is, until we felt the wrath of Bowser's flames and claws, and the essence of our aggressor disintegrated from around us. After that, we lost all consciousness, and we've been slowly recovering from our near destruction since then. Shadows take time to heal from a shadow prison, you see; that's why it took so long for us to come back."

"Hm." Gadd considered them. "Well, welcome back. Have you heard what we plan to do at the break of dawn tomorrow?" The three of them nodded. "Good. Then you're invited to fight alongside us; the armies of the Mushroom Kingdom are in _that_ direction…" he pointed out the window. "…and I believe you'll find some old friends there with which you can get reacquainted. Now, if you don't mind, there's an extremely important council taking place at the moment, so…."

"Yes, of course," Beldam said. If her exclusion from the meeting annoyed her, she hid it well. "Let us depart, sisters." She nudged Vivian, who was still staring at Mario, and the three purple shadows sank once again into the ground and vanished.

The professor turned back to the council. "A-hem. Getting back to business, I'll take one more question before we move on to matters of war tactics."

"Just how large is Master Hand's army, exactly?" King Dedede asked.

But Gadd was not the one to respond. "Millions," Shadow said, the forcefulness of his the word shaking awake any who had been beginning to doze. "Unlimited, really, but at this time, that is what we will be dealing with."

The penguin seemed to shrink in fear. "Mil…millions? Can that many even fit inside the Battlefields? How do you know this?"

"Because I have seen it myself," Shadow said quietly.

"Alright, moving on!" Gadd ended the significant but most certainly unhelpful tangent. "If you'll take a look at your maps…" As the professor began to explain where he wanted each division of the Smash Brothers' army to advance, he moved the small representative figurines accordingly. "I don't think Master Hand has any flying fighters; do they, Shadow?"

But Shadow only shrugged and shook his head. "I only got a brief glimpse; I didn't see anything in the skies, I don't think…"

"Actually, they do," DK cut in. He glanced at Ganondorf and Bowser. "When we were in Onett, these weird space aliens…Starmen, I think they're called…they attacked us and basically told us they work for Master Hand now."

"Hm. Well, if there _is_ anything in the skies, then that'll be left to the Cornerian fleet. The Bounty Hunters and Team Star Wolf can patrol over the Battlefields, doing as much damage as they can. The Pokémon will be holding off Master Hand's legions, along with Dreamland, Bowser's army, the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom, the Beanish, the Gorons, the Zoras, Ganondorf's minions, the Delfinians, and the Waffle Kingdom. Now before you ask where everyone else will be," Gadd said over the protests of a couple in the council, quelling their voices, "let me tell you that I've done a great deal of thinking about these things, and I have worked out the best possible way to organize this with the knowledge we currently have."

The professor continued, moving figurines into positions with his pointer as he went along. "The group that shall penetrate to the external base outside of the Room will consist of the forces of the Kongo Jungle, including K. Rool's lot; the creatures from Icicle Mountain; the Yoshis; and myself and the former residents of the Isle O' Hags will accompany them as well. Finally, the faction with the task of cutting straight through Master Hand's armies into Master Hand's Room will include the Hylian Host, Meta Knight's Star Warriors, the Akaneians, and Team Star Fox with the Great Fox. Also with them will be Mario and Luigi.

"Now allow me to explain my reasoning for these decisions. The group going to the external base will need an agile force; I have chosen the many creatures of Kongo Jungle and the Icicle Mountains as well as the Yoshis for this purpose. And I along with my second in command will need to go along with them, because this base is where I expect we will find my notorious wretch of a cousin, Professor U. Reeka, and my instinct tells me that this will be my battle to fight.

"The Soldiers of Hyrule and Akaneia both have very competent cavalries and infantry, and in order to literally cut through Master Hand's armies, the cavalry will form a sort of arrow point and charge through, allowing the infantry, Mario, Luigi, and the others to proceed quickly and somewhat safely to the Room. But while this party ought not to be large in surface area, they need to be as strong and well protected as possible, so that's why Team Star Fox, the Great Fox, and the Star Warriors will need to cover them from above.

"I have one more thing to say: Unless I specified, I would strongly recommend that each of you, our leaders, remain with your forces so that we'll be able to command them effectively, and so they will have someone familiar to look to in leading the way for them. If you don't belong to any of these groups—like you, Mr. Game & Watch, and you, Dr. Mario—then I will let you choose where you wish to fight. _Now_ are there any further questions?"

This time there was silence. The riskiness of this complicated plan had overwhelmed most every one of the council members, and no one could think of another question besides, "What if we lose?" And they all knew the answer to that.

* * *

It was the evening before the planned endeavor, and few were able to get a good night's sleep with what they knew lay ahead, not to mention what they didn't know. Most laid in their sleeping quarters, contemplating what was about to be done.

Outside in the silent night, however, there were two lone figures standing on the top of a roof, gazing out at the starry sky. Mewtwo and Ness stood side by side; they were on top of the hotel where Ness stayed in one of the rooms with his old friends Paula, Jeff, and Poo. Ness's mind was filled with all the sorts of thoughts which might be expected of a child about to go to war: worry for his own life, for the lives of others, for the future of his world; wonder at the adventure that had begun for him with the metal clones whisking him to Master Hand's fortress, where he had experienced a long, terrifying imprisonment. The worried boy looked over at Mewtwo levitating beside him, still staring out into the night; his thoughts could not be deciphered by his inscrutable expression.

After a while, Mewtwo turned his gaze to Ness. _"Do you believe you are ready for tomorrow?"_

"No," Ness said, looking at the ground. "I'm scared. I've fought Starmen and Giygas with the help of my friends, but never thought I'd have to fight in a war like this." His childlike features seemed to soften the heart of the psychic cat.

 _"Wrong,"_ Mewtwo corrected. _"You ARE ready. You have learned well what I have taught you, and if you use your skills wisely, you will be safe from any enemy, regardless of their number. Others will look past your youth and see a great leader, one to look up to. You will be spending more time protecting others than yourself. I see that leader in you; you are yet a child, but have a mind beyond that of many adults, and a bravery that has raised you among the great. Master Hand never did invite anyone to his tournaments who didn't deserve it…with the possible exception of Pichu…but even that creature has nerve you would never imagine could be found within such a small Pokémon._

 _"No, you should not be concerned about the war; what you and I and everyone else should truly be concerned about is why Master Hand has been so…'merciful' to us at times. Yes, it is certain that this is all some sort of amusement to him, but why has he allowed it to excel to this point? I know that he is stronger than he has demonstrated so far, so why is he jeopardizing control over his own domain when he could have overwhelmed us long ago while the quest in the Dimension Conflux had been going on? There is something wrong, something ill-boding about this whole struggle. If we get out of this alive, I don't believe that it will end as simply as Professor Gadd thinks it well. So be cautious, Ness, but confident. You have the choice of where you wish to fight, so perhaps I will be seeing you again, or perhaps not. Farewell."_

Mewtwo vanished from the rooftop with a flash, leaving Ness with slightly higher spirits, but ever lonely.

* * *

The Smash Brothers crossed the gray border into the Battlefields, their many divisions spread out so that the leaders would all be the first to step into the enemy lands. Before they proceeded, however, Professor E. Gadd flew his hovercraft high above the ground, and halted and turned the vehicle to face the glorious panorama of Nintendonian defenders below. The professor, clad in the same lab coat despite the fact that they were going into war, handed a superefficient microphone to Meta Knight beside him. The Star Warrior's deep voice boomed across the outskirts of Fourside, the ground beneath them partly gray and partly transitioning into the flashing purple of the Battlefields.

"Defenders of the Nintendo World," he said, standing on the black-and-yellow edge of the hovercraft with Galaxia in hand and his bat wings spread out. "We have gathered this day to restore peace and order to our homes, to destroy forever the threat of Master Hand and Crazy Hand, and to rescue some of our loved ones who have been ruthlessly taken from us. The armies of the enemy may be great, they may be impossibly numerous, but we, we are greater than them! For they are naught but mindless, manufactured copies; naught but the convoluted creations of Master Hand, his slaves and tools used against us. Each of us are individuals, able to think for ourselves, able to outsmart these artificial creations, able to work together by covering each other's weaknesses, and magnifying each other's strengths.

"And we, united in a common cause, have the most important thing in a war that Master Hand does not: something worth fighting for. He thinks this is all a game, one that he cannot lose, nor that has any rules or limits. But we know better, don't we? Our enemy is about to find out where his great mistake lies, and that is in underestimating our determination, our cooperation, and our oneness of heart.

"Master Hand would have us as his 'trophies,' his playthings, his prizes. But what is a trophy, my friends? It is a symbol of success used to impress others. For some, it is a shiny piece of metal; for others, a princess, or a kingdom, or an object of great power. For him, that symbol is our petrification; our defeat; our loss of hope.

"But for us, it cannot be any of those things. Comrades; brothers; in order for us to triumph, we must cast aside _our_ meaningless trophies. We must set aside petty power struggles. We must subdue our pride and vanity. We must, in fact, purge ourselves of the need to impress altogether. No tournament or conquest or world-saving track record can make a hero—or even a villain—great. No, the only trophy worth winning is the one we forge in our hearts—knowing we have become all we were created to be. _That_ must be the symbol of our success.

"Even though we may not all survive this day, the only way we will lose is by giving up. For even the weakest of our alliance is worth dozens of Master Hand's Wire Frames, and if we never lose our resolve, we shall surely triumph. So on behalf of everything we love, of everything we have already lost, and of everything we hope for in the future, let us go on to victory!"

A tremendous cheer echoed across the border—so loudly, so confidently, that it could be heard several miles back into the city, and in a figurative way it reached across every the region of the Nintendo World, penetrating the spirits of those who remained in their homelands. It resounded across the fields of Hyrule, between the trees of the Kongo Jungle, over the steep slopes of the Icicle Mountains, into the very gates of Princess Peach's Castle, and all felt in their hearts the united strength of those who had gone off to defend them, those who were left behind silently cheering them on.

Back at the border, Goombas and Koopas jumped up and down; Waddle Dees waved their stubby arms; soldiers ranging from Toads to Hylian Soldiers to the Akaneians shook their swords, spears, shields, and other manner of handheld weapons; while still piggybacking the Babies, Mario and Luigi lifted their hats to each other before looking forward; King Dedede smiled and twirled his hammer as if he were about to engage in an epic round of Whack-a-Mole; the Ice Climbers crossed each others' hammers; Ganondorf and Mewtwo spun around once and stretched back their limbs as if embracing their power; Link patted Epona's mane and drew the Biggoron sword; monkeys, Pokémon, and other animals hollered and cried out in excitement; Pichu and Jigglypuff cheered from Red's shoulders; Bowser let out a roar that would have caused Petey Piranha to cower.

Shadow the Hedgehog folded his arms and looked off in the direction of the Room where the friend he had betrayed existed only as a trophy; Young Link took one last swig of Lon Lon Milk; Marth and Roy crossed blades; Pac-man grinned widely as always with his gloved hands on his spherical hips; Pit raised the Sacred Bow while flapping his wings and hovering in the air; Meta Knight and Sword Kirby raised their blades together along with the other Star Warriors; Banjo shook his fist and Kazooie waved her wing as they stood next to Professor E. Gadd in the hovercraft; Mr. Game & Watch rang his black bell repeatedly; Prince Peasley laughed gaily while he drew his sword atop his Bean Pod; Mario's old companions (including the Shadow Sirens, Goombario, and Goombella) huddled together and shouted; Donkey Kong bellowed and beat his chest; Tiny and Dixie whooped with their hands on their hips; Lanky Kong leapt into the air and used his linked arms as a jump-rope; Cranky posed like ninja in his karate outfit; Funky feigned firing a machine gun while making shooting sounds with his mouth; all the pilots in their airborne crafts, whether they were among the Cornerian Fleet, Team Star Fox, Star Wolf, or the Bounty Hunters, shook their arms in the air or did loop-de-loops amid the mass of flying machines; and Ness tilted his cap beside Paula, Jeff, and Poo with a grim smile.

For about five minutes, this cheering continued ceaselessly, and then finally died down. The professor, smiling, turned his hovercraft back towards the Battlefields where he expected to see their opponents approaching. "Hmmm…I don't see anything…." The downward-sloping landscape in front of them—which leveled out after a few hundred feet—seemed completely devoid of occupants. The ground continued to flash white and purple.

But then, an Arwing fired an enthusiastic shot at the ground a couple miles away (they could see far into the distance), and instead of just scorching the ground, it hit something; a small black spot was created by the laser, and it was soon covered up with more purple.

Kazooie's eyes, as keen as they were, widened as she realized what it had hit. "It's them! Master Hand's army is before us, less than three miles away!"

And indeed, the black spot had been covered so quickly because the entire landscape was not empty at all; it was so densely covered with Wire Frames, which blended in with the ground at that distance, that as soon as whatever beings occupying that spot had been demolished by the laser, several others closed in to take up the space.

The Smash Brothers were now completely silent, for now everyone could see the massive movement as legions upon legions of Wire Frames advanced forward, mindless yet menacing. There were so many that the Battlefields had become a virtual sea of movement, extending as far as the eye could see.

What was more, in the distant skies another purple mass of airborne things approached them at a distressing speed, and below them at the bottom of the long slope appeared hundreds of Boos, cackling and following King Boo across the plain alongside the Wire Frames.

The terror of the enemy entered into the hearts of all who were there to behold it, and the wise professor realized the longer they delayed, the more frightened they would become of the strength of the enemy. Since his voice was not loud enough, he made a signal to the leaders, and simultaneously, they all yelled the same thing and ran forward.

"CHAAARGE!" Biggoron's voice being the loudest among them, the Smash Brothers surged forward, now with more questions to be answered than ever, but not enough time left to so much as tie a shoelace. The airborne forces advanced as the crow flies, bound to reach the enemy first, while the rest spread down the slopes, with the arrow-point formation made up of cavalry and others in the middle, and Gadd's hovercraft flying over the left side with the creatures.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Second after second went by, yet it seemed like an eternity. The multicolored alliance of approximately ten thousand flowed from the ravaged city into the barren purple plains toward an army that by contrast seemed almost monochromatic. The Wire Frames spread across the entire territory, countless in number. The final endeavor had begun at last.


	22. Chapter 18: Battlefields Barricade (1)

Book 4

The Hand of Fate

* * *

Chapter 18: Barricade of the Battlefields

* * *

 **B** owser, advancing at the front of his army in his Koopa Clown Car with Pichu on the top of his shell, was both confounded and infuriated by the revelation that the Boos had allied with Master Hand. From almost the beginning of time, King Boo and his fellow ghosts had been under his command. But now they had betrayed him, and it did not take the Koopa King long to realize that this had been the case for a long time.

All he could see of the Smash Brothers' army was the right (or northern) side, although in the southern distance the outline of the cavalry formation was faintly visible. The sky was overcast, and the air was chilly as it was morning. However, due to the radioactive appearance of the purple ground, the clouds above were tinted pink and violet from the glow of the surface. As the two forces neared, the ruins of the Great Fourside City shrunk behind them. It was also evident that the Wire Frames, or at least the ones in front, looked the same as always, male and female, but they seemed to have abandoned the extra features that had been present during the Battle of Fourside.

In his fury, Bowser directed his army toward the swarm of cackling Boos, intent on revenge. The many other various Nintendo forces approached the army alongside Bowser's, but the enemy did not move, only waiting intently as they drew within a hundred feet of each other. Then, in a sudden move, Wire Frames and Boos alike charged forward with great speed, and the two sides collided.

Bodies crashed into each other, purposely or not. Weapons struck the Wire Frames, who had none. Koopas curled into their shells and bowled into the other side. Magikoopas on broomsticks, Lakitus, and Paratroopas flew overhead and dive-bombed, dropping geometric spells, Spinies, and the force of their shell-protected bodies respectively. Waddle Dees and Goombas flung themselves headlong into the chaos. Some Arwings sped across the opponent's masses, firing lasers and dropping B-Bombs. Gorons either rolled into the throng or used their strong fists to beat down Wire Frames. Zoras, clad in Atlantic armor and wielding spears, stabbed their weapons into the first Wire Frames in front of them. Biggoron stepped clear over the front lines into Master Hand's armies and began squashing them, several with each step. Hammer Bros chucked hammers into the opposite side. Chain Chomps, released from their chains, rampaged into the enemy's ranks, occasionally catching Wire Frames in their teeth.

Octoroks jumped and spit rocks out of their mouths. Moblins yelled and slobbered and swung their long, thick spears while tossing their burning lanterns into the opposing legion. The many other creatures of Dreamland used their abundant abilities to their advantage as they struck, shocking, freezing, scorching, slicing, and so on. Mario's old companions used each of their natural talents to their greatest potential, paving the way for others. The Delfinians, armed with coconuts, chili peppers, and durians, used these fruits to bash the heads of their adversaries. The noble soldiers of the Beanbean Kingdom charged valorously with swords in hand, Prince Peasley fierce and confident at their head. The muffin-headed Toads from the Waffle Kingdom fought in the same manner as the Toads of the Mushroom Kingdom, but with even more skill and strength. The Chestnut King, leading the Waffle Kingdom, wielded an enormous broadsword as he entered the fray.

Hundreds of species of Pokémon (including Jigglypuff and Mewtwo) unleashed a cornucopia of ranged attacks, attacked from above, or lunged forward at the Wire Frames from the ground. Some were accompanied by trainers who shouted out commands while dodging attacks themselves. Young Link charged up a Hurricane Spin and sliced his way into the purple crowd. King Dedede applied a combination of air-sucking and mallet-swinging, usually smacking several enemies away at once. Ganondorf introduced himself with a purple-flamed Gerudo Kick into the Wire Frames he confronted. Mr. Game & Watch ran slowly but surely, frame by frame, and added his myriad of miscellaneous objects to the chemistry. Bowser himself leaped out of his Koopa Clown Car with a roar, completely disregarding what became of it, and commenced the tag team strategy with Pichu they'd used in Fourside.

Indeed, the defenders of the Nintendo World were sweeping through hundreds and thousands of Wire Frames with ease. The purple enemies, with their visible hearts inside their translucent bodies, and the red Smash insignias in place of faces, used the feeble punches and kicks, as well as occasional jumps, for which they were known, but proved unable to cause more than minimal damage to the Smash Brothers. The real trouble at the moment was the Boos: With their transparent bodies, the only one who had been able to hit them was Lady Bow (one of Mario's old partners), who was a Boo herself, but as soon as anyone else had their back turned, the Boos struck from behind, defeating or at least severely weakening many. And meanwhile, the swarm of airborne purple specks drew ever nearer…

Bowser and Pichu attacked cooperatively left and right, Bowser with his claws and bursts of flame, Pichu with his head and electric currents or bolts of lightning. Then they heard a call from where the bulk of the Pokémon fought: "Pichu! We need you over here!" It was his young master, Red. Bowser and Pichu shared an understanding look in the midst of their fighting, and Bowser nodded and shooed him off. The Pokémon used Agility to speed through the air directly to his master's side beside Jigglypuff.

Bowser, while looking after Pichu to make sure he moved over safely, heard a growl identical to his own. He turned back to see that the Wire Frames had cleared a pathway for Metal Bowser, the perpetrator of many a horrendous crime, not the least of which being the murder of Orca. And now a circle was forming: Wire Frames bordering one side, Bowser's minions on the other. The Wire Frames just stood silently, watching, while the Koopa King's followers were cheering and hollering his name, even though both he and his clone shared it. Bowser turned to Metal Bowser, which already had blood on its claws and its mouth. The clone let out a mighty roar.

"Alright, then," Bowser growled, posing for a fight with his claws. "Bring it, you aluminum wannabe!"

* * *

Wolf O' Donnell cried out in shock as he and his companions Leon and Panther faced the oncoming onslaught of strange airborne things, which, as they drew nearer, were most obviously not Wire Frames of any kind. No, as they drew within firing distance, Wolf realized that he recognized these creatures, but had thought he would never see them again. It was the Aparoids.

The Aparoids: the same menace which had not too long ago threatened to corrupt the entire Lylat System with its sinister, parasitic power. But surely, Wolf thought, Fox and his team had planted the self-destruct program within the Aparoid Queen, forever ridding the universe of all of these insidious insects. And yet they were here now, before him and the rest, as if the loss of their queen had only been a minor setback, as if there was no way to ultimately eliminate them….

Now they were close enough for him to see details: purple, blue, and slightly orange in color, twitching pincers and legs and antennae, sickly eyes and demented mutations which the Aparoids were so well known for, and, as they were to soon demonstrate, an assortment of laser-based weapons to equal that of the Cornerian Fleet.

The two airborne forces intermingled almost at the same time as the ground armies. Chaos broke out. Lasers cross-fired everywhere. Cornerian ships performed barrel rolls and other techniques in order to defend themselves. The fleet's large gunships fired huge beams at the other side. Damaged vessels on both sides exploded in the air or plummeted smoking and spinning to explode on the ground instead. Wolf called on his radio communicator, "Panther, Leon, be careful out there. I can't afford to replace another team member since the obnoxiousness of Oikonny and that fat traitor of a swine Pigma!"

"You be careful as well, hound." Wolf, confused at the unfamiliar voice coming through his receiver, glanced behind him. Following Team Star Wolf was the group of a dozen or so Metroid Bounty Hunters. Sylux, in a sleek blue and yellow craft behind Wolf, spoke again. "We've got your back."

Wolf nodded, forgetting the fact that one could not hear another person nodding. "Let's do this!" And so the squad of space travelers sped into the assault together.

* * *

Pichu, Jigglypuff, and Red charged into battle along with the swarms of other Pokémon, plowing through the Wire Frames like tissue paper. Mewtwo followed above them, sending Shadow Balls into the masses of enemies below. Soon, the Pokémon penetrated into a spacious bowl-like depression in the Battlefields with a flat, circular bottom. However, as Red and his Pokémon began to lead the other Pokémon into the depression, a tremendous change occurred.

A barrier of translucent purple light cut off Pichu, Jigglypuff, Red, and Mewtwo from the rest of the Pokémon, and as this barrier formed a ring around the bowl, the Wire Frames appeared to be clearing out. And as they cleared out, the circular bottom underwent a dramatic physical change: The purple surface washed itself away, revealing smooth concrete and white paint which caused the circle to resemble a Pokéball, with two semi-circular sides and a smaller circle in the center. A battle arena.

Finally, before the purple barrier of light had completed its circulation, three men of vastly different descriptions strode imposingly toward Red and the others from the opposite side. Alongside them were three additional figures, but these were clearly identified as Metal Pichu, Metal Jigglypuff, and Metal Mewtwo, the latter hovering low over the ground, but all of them with an air of hostility and power.

The first man was fairly tall, dressed in a dark suit and tie, and wearing a gray hat as well as a cold, business-like smile. Red narrowed his eyes, recognizing Giovanni at once.

The second was a bit taller but skinny; he had long, wispy white hair that flew about behind him as he walked, wore a purple muscle-bound shirt, and a red skirt-like thing over blue tights. He looked old, but his eyes glowed with a scarlet power that gave him a malevolent youthfulness. The third man was not more than 4' 6", and was very portly; he had thick gray eyebrows and spiky, Einstein-esque hair. He wore an auburn suit with his sleeves unbuttoned, and his arms and hands flailing loosely at his sides. His eyes were dark and full of hatred. Together they halted only yards away with the three metal Pokémon.

Giovanni smirked. "We meet again, Red. I told you in Saffron our contest was just beginning. Now we will finish it." He gestured toward the other two men. "These are my comrades from the distant Orre region, Nascour and Evice. You fools think your precious Smash Brothers represent the good will of all the Nintendo World…but you are wrong. Many of us, including the Boos and the Aparoids, prefer the rule of Master Hand to the injustice of this despicable, 'free' world. Now we will battle one last time, but I doubt you will find it as easy as in Silph Co, for we are six and you are only four…" With that, Giovanni, Evice, and Nascour each threw a Pokéball, and out of them appeared, successively, the former Team Rocket President's Rhydon, a stone-gray, triceratops-like beast on two legs with its drill-nose spinning menacingly; the Cipher Head's Tyranitar, which vaguely resembled a pale-green stegosaurus, also standing on its hind legs; and lastly the Cipher Second in Command's feared Metagross, its spidery, spike-studded legs digging into the cement, its steel, aqua-colored body the rough shape of a tortoise shell with a silver X on its face separating its molten-metal eyes. Giovanni smiled as the opposing side tried not to balk, but trembled out of visible fear (except for Mewtwo, who continued to float calmly, but seemed to have eyes only for Metal Mewtwo). Nascour continued to glare, and Evice let out an old wheezy cackle.

But as if in answer, high over the purple barrier flew a great, majestic beast with turquoise wings, its silhouette becoming clearer as it dived down into the battle arena, slipping inside a fraction of a second before the barrier completed itself at the top. It was the legendary Dragonite, with macaroni-and-cheese scales, a large paunch, and two impressive dragon wings, while at the same time having a cute round snout and adorable glittering eyes. The beautiful Pokémon landed smoothly on the side facing the crime lords next to Red and the others, and allowed its three passengers to disembark.

The first was, of course, Lance the Dragon Master, the owner of the impressive Dragonite. He smiled at Red reassuringly. The second was Wes, the famed Pokémon Champion of the Orre Region and former member of Team Snagem. He was credited with the overthrow of the Cipher crime ring as well as the defeat and capture of many other notorious criminals such as Miror B. He had unkempt gray hair, a white line of paint across the bridge his nose, and a cobalt jacket with black shoulder armor on one arm. Then there was Gary, smirking at Red as if he'd just pulled an extraordinarily humiliating prank.

Lance patted his Dragonite, then spoke to Red and the other Pokémon, almost ignoring the enemies entirely. "Well met again, Red! Sorry it took so long…it was a long flight to the Orre Region, but I figured you could use all the help you can get. We'll make quite a team, don't you think?" Lance smiled, then addressed Mewtwo great respect. "I am glad to have you on our side as well, Mewtwo." Mewtwo nodded, but then Lance looked at their opponents. He frowned. "Even though there appears to be another just like you against us, doesn't there?"

Gary, with his rather haughty grin, addressed Giovanni and the others, eyeing Metal Mewtwo with particular disdain. "Alright, losers. Prepare to get your HP drained so fast, you won't know what hit you! By the time we're through with you, not even a Max Revive will be of any use!" And with that, Gary tossed his Pokéball, and out of it came a mighty Blastoise, its two cannons already aimed at the other side. Red could have sworn he heard Gary mutter "For Sabrina" under his breath.

Wes, quiet like Red, followed with two of his own Pokéballs, out of which came his faithful Espeon and Umbreon—long-eared, fox-like creatures, one a smooth lavender with a double tail and a red jewel on its forehead, the other more erect, a deep onyx with glowing yellow rings shining like halos on its sleek fur. Dragonite went over to stand beside Mewtwo. The two lines of Pokémon (or metal clones) faced each other, with their trainers (if they had one) standing behind them.

Giovanni, Nascour, and Evice began to laugh. "Do you honestly believe any of you young fools can stop the likes of us?" Nascour spat.

Red's body trembled. The prospect of another battle combined with the presence of Gary's Blastoise threatened to resurface memories of Charizard…them crashing down onto the rooftop during the downpour of acid rain…his helplessness as the Pokémon's tail flame extinguished….

"Yes; yes, we do," he said, clenching his fingerless gloves. "Especially since you've all been defeated by us before; what'll make this time any different? Our Pokémon outnumber yours seven to six!"

"Oh, I think you'll find that to be inaccurate," Giovanni replied. And indeed, from behind Giovanni's shoulder slunk his faithful Persian. The cat leapt off his shoulder and joined the faceoff. "Especially with your pathetic excuse for a defense." He looked at Pichu and Jigglypuff in particular, who both puffed up in anger, annoyed that Giovanni had left out the fact that they'd wiped the floor with Persian and Kangaskhan in their last match.

"And what's different this time," Evice said with a manic smile, "is that this will be the first ever seven-on-seven battle in Pokémon history, which shall be very interesting indeed! And when your protectors are defeated, you will be overrun by Master Hand's Armies, and all your little efforts to protect the freedom of your precious world will have been in vain!"

 _"Enough talk,"_ Mewtwo demanded, still looking only at Metal Mewtwo. _"Prepare to enter a new world of pain with which you are not yet familiar!"_

And after Mewtwo's challenge, the two lines sprung into action: Pichu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Dragonite, Blastoise, Espeon, and Umbreon on one side; Metal Pichu, Metal Jigglypuff, Metal Mewtwo, Rhydon, Metagross, Tyranitar, and Persian on the other.

* * *

As the northern front of the battle pressed on, the Smash Brothers pushed back the Wire Frames with ease, being trained for much more skilled opponents than these virtually mindless moldings of Master Hand's. It was at the height of their triumph, when it seemed that the battle would be over before the day's end, when everything took a steep turn for the worse.

About the first ten thousand Wire Frames—which were what could be seen from the front—were indeed the standard male and female incarnations, weak both in strength and reaction time. But those pushing at the front, including King Dedede, Ganondorf, and Prince Peasley, could not have been prepared for what came next.

The battle with the Aparoids raged on above them, and while occasionally a stray enemy or Arwing would lay siege on those below, for the most part the two fronts were separated by height. The ten thousand standard Wire Frames dwindled and were almost gone, but it was impossible to notice until they were upon them that the ones behind these were very different. Instead of coming merely in male and female forms, as Professor U. Reeka had presented to Master Hand, the rest of the still-countless body behind them came in the likeness of each of the Original 25, while still retaining the Wire Frame anatomy with a visible heart somewhere in the center of the translucent purple material and the red Smash insignia in place of their faces. They did not seem to be organized by which Smasher they resembled, but rather were grouped into many battalions of 25 (or 26, counting the second Ice Climber Frame), and their diversity became terribly clear to those in the front when the last male and female Wire Frames had been destroyed.

These, in contrast to the weaker beings, fought with much more skill, much more agility, much more power, and much more endurance, no longer subjecting themselves to being destroyed in massive numbers. Also extremely significant was the shocking fact that they could perform every attack their respective Smash had been capable of—even special attacks based upon energy or supernatural powers. Pikachu Frames projected bolts of blue lightning. Zelda and Ness Frames used magic and PSI powers. Even Kirby Frames inhaled lesser warriors and mimicked their victims' strengths. It was a nightmare for every confident Smash Brother; no longer could their enemies' attacks or strategies be predicted by simple means. The previously progressing army of the Smash Brothers was forced to a terrible standstill, and soon was being pushed back. Despite the northernmost forces' efforts to keep the enemy on one side, Wire Frames began to penetrate around the far northern end and creep around from behind the unsuspecting flanks.

Ganondorf yelled in rage as those beside him were being pushed back by their exponentially trickier enemies. He tried to hold off the Wire Frames alone, and though for a while his strength served him well in overpowering every Wire Frame that confronted him, this act of pride soon resulted in him being isolated within Master Hand's advancing troops, and surrounded by a circle of curiously concentrated Ganondorf Frames, among them being the notorious Metal Ganondorf.

The King of Evil laughed in defiance. "Let's see you worthless clones do this!" He held up the back of his left hand in a tight fist, and from within it glowed the sacred triangle of the Triforce of Power. Ganondorf's figure turned black and began to mutate. He grew many times his original size; his legs and arms became beastly claws with long black tips; and two deadly spiraling horns protruded from his skull. As he changed, his laugh became a deep, porcine squeal. Ganondorf finally stopped growing and mutating, equaling Biggoron in size, and the giant shape of Ganon settled, its monstrous colors of black, red, and green becoming visible. It gripped in each hand a gigantic blade with sharp, jagged edges which could slice through solid rock like butter. Its eyes glowed white, and the beast continued to roar provocatively to the Ganondorf Frames still surrounding him as it waited for them to flee in terror.

But instead, each and every Ganondorf Frame began mutating and growing in exactly the same manner, and within a matter of seconds, he was now surrounded by thirty full-sized Ganon Frames and one Metal Ganon.

Ganon's confidence dwindled slightly at this setback. Nevertheless, he made the first swing of the blade, beheading one Ganon Frame and knocking back several others.

Meanwhile, Mr. Game & Watch and Young Link faced off against their metal equals together, and they engaged in what they knew to be a fated fight. Both of them had encountered their doppelganger previously, and both were determined not to allow it to elude them a second time.

Noon came and went, but the northern front knew nothing of what was going on with the rest of the war.

* * *

Bowser mauled his metal rival and gave a great push. But his efforts barely moved Metal Bowser an inch. The iron beast bellowed with amusement, and threw Bowser off with an effortless shove.

The King of the Koopas got back up, breathing heavily, and scrutinized his opponent. _I know I can't beat Mario,_ he thought. _But now can't even beat myself? Pathetic! I'm not going to let it end this way!_ He watched Metal Bowser and waited for him to make a move, the vast crowd around the two of them cheering as if they were at a dogfight.

Suddenly, Metal Bowser leapt forward and engaged Bowser in a furious brawl of claws, teeth, spikes, and hulk. At one point, Metal Bowser grabbed his opponent and hurled him into the air. Bowser, without thinking, performed a Bowser Bomb—only to land very painfully on Metal Bowser's spiked, solid-iron shell.

Bowser roared in pain; not only had his rear end been wounded, but his face and stomach were cut, scratched, and bruised from the fight. He lay wearily on his stomach, and saw Metal Bowser stomp up to him triumphantly. Its mouth began to glow, preparing to release a stream of fire to finish him off…

 _Great idea! Thanks, loser!_ With all the strength he could muster, he took a quick, deep breath, and before his metal enemy could act any further, he ejected a ball of red-hot flames from his mouth, consuming the unsuspecting beast. Metal Bowser's agonized features melted away; its face became a mess of liquid, and, like several metal clones before it, Bowser's likeness was reduced to a puddle of molten metal.

Despite the surge of delicious victory and adrenaline that flowed through Bowser's veins, this was no time to celebrate or rest. His minions behind him charged forward to meet the disappointed Wire Frames, and he soon got up and did all he could to join them with a painful limp in his stride.

* * *

Team Star Wolf and the Bounty Hunters put into play every last trick and talent to engage the Aparoids while trying to survive at the same time. They were a virtual wall of lasers that soon became feared by the Aparoids above all their other adversaries. Block after block of Aparoid fliers attempted to break apart the group or got in their way, but each of them were overwhelmed by the teamwork of the squadron of rogues. Occasionally Wolf or one of the Bounty Hunters would shout directions via radio, and the group would move or act accordingly.

After hours of what Leon called "child's play," the squadron had to veer off to maneuver through the chaos between an area where a flock of Pidgeots had whipped up a Twister and another in which a massive explosion caused by a troop of Bob-ombs directed by Captain Bobbery and Bombette (two of Mario's partners) was enveloping dozens of Wire Frames. But as they proceeded through the gap, a large, mysterious floating cube blocked their way out.

"Under!" Wolf commanded, and at just the right time the squadron dived down and under the hovering box, rose back up on the other side, performed a U-turn, and faced the strange cube.

It was composed of eight smaller cubes which had the potential to turn and rotate (like a 2-by-2 Rubik's Cube), and were colored red, yellow, green, blue, gray, or purple on each side. The box radiated a menacing, vengeful glow. As Star Wolf and the others beheld it, the smaller cubes turned and rotated until four purple sides were facing them. But the four combined sides created a familiar face….

"Pigma!" Wolf yelled in surprise. "Hasn't Star Fox destroyed you more than once already?"

A bizarre echoing snort came from the purple face of Pigma on the box. "That was before, you fools!"

"Before what, piglet?" Panther said.

"Before Master Hand brought me back in this unique form. You'd be surprised who else he's revived to serve him. The Shadow Queen, for one—"

"We've had enough of your slander, you treacherous swine," Leon croaked, his independent eyes both focused on the floating box. "Not exactly sure how you've managed to survive _again_ , but I'm sure Wolf will order us to obliterate you for good any second now."

"Indeed I will," Wolf agreed. "Any last words, bacon butt?"

Pigma snorted with laughter again. "I should be asking you that very thing. For I used to consider you members of Team Star Wolf as old friends! But it looks like you're on the wrong side; so I, being the generous guy I am, will give you _one_ chance—and _only_ one—to commit to Master Hand's service if you value your pathetic lives!"

"Never," Wolf growled with a deep hatred of the greedy traitor before him.

"Fine then," Pigma snorted. "But I warn you, Master Hand has granted me a new trick that not even you or Star Fox can escape. Watch and die!"

Pigma's face began to glow white, and then from the face shot forth a beam of white energy the same shape and size of Pigma's face—huge, and only with two tiny holes for eyes and snout slits through which no Arwing could possibly escape. And what was more, Pigma had somehow made himself appear on three other sides as well as from above and below and discharged the same deadly force, so now six massive white pig faces were closing in on the small squadron, each laughing cruelly, greedy for revenge.

"There's no way out." These were not words that came from Wolf's mouth lightly.

"So what, we just sit here and die?" Noxus (one of the Bounty Hunters) fumed.

"Yup, basically," Leon confirmed.

"This can't happen…I still haven't squared the rematch I owe Samus Aran…" Sylux said.

"What a dark and dreary end, it seems." Panther fingered a red rose solemnly while thinking about all the lovers he would be leaving behind.

The six beams continued to slowly close in, Pigma's laughter growing louder and louder, the box watching the destruction of his enemies from a distance.

Suddenly, a sphere of blue energy materialized around the squadron from a source above them. The six Pigma faces collided into the sphere, but were all absorbed by the shield's energy. Then a set of Twin Lasers from the same source fired rapidly at the dumbfounded Pigma cube, and the vengeful swine exploded like a piñata.

Meanwhile, the rest of the squadron, relieved, looked up as the Cloud Runner descended from the skies and drew level with them.

"Thought you could use some help," Krystal said matter-of-factly. The blue Saurian fox set down her blue staff in the cockpit beside her, which was still glowing from its recent use.

Wolf, although grateful to Krystal for saving their lives, was curious about her appearance. "Krystal," he said, "I thought Fox told you to stay home on this one. Couldn't resist the action, eh?"

Krystal, from inside the cockpit, looked like she was trying to think of a good excuse, but then said, "Yes, that's about right…where _is_ Fox, anyway? And the rest of the team, for that matter?"

"Ah, Krystal," Panther crooned. "The lovely sapphire rose…Panther will protect you; you needn't worry about Team Star Fox. But since you asked, and I am never one to refuse a question from a lady of your elegance, McCloud and his team are off to Master Hand's room, on a very important mission….It would be best not to disturb them now; they are most likely far distant by now in any case. Wouldn't you care to join us for the time being, my dear?"

Krystal thought for a moment. "Alright…but as soon as we take care of all these Aparoids, I'm heading straight there. I didn't come all this way just to wait for him to come back." She lowered her visor, which was part of the pink Cornerian Pilot outfit she wore. "I'm ready!"

And so the scoundrels of Lylat and the ruthless Bounty Hunters of the Galactic Federation reentered the fray.


	23. Chapter 18: Battlefields Barricade (2)

As the battle commenced, Mewtwo and his metal counterpart immediately rose to the afternoon skies (still within the tall translucent dome) and began an epic battle of psychic powers. Pichu and Jigglypuff in turn tussled with Metal Pichu and Jigglypuff. Wes's Espeon and Umbreon ganged up on Giovanni's sly Persian. This left Dragonite and Blastoise to face Rhydon, Metagross, and Tyranitar.

It was a simple yet strange fact that even though all the trainers and villains shouted commands and attacks and encouragement to their Pokémon, these mixed words did little to aid the battlers. But there was nothing else the humans could do, so they kept doing it in order to feel important, as if they were actually helping.

Mewtwo and Metal Mewtwo flashed in and out of sight, hurling Shadow Balls at each other in between. Espeon, faster than its partner, lunged at Persian, who jumped out of the way. The cat then Slashed at Espeon, knocking it down and severely weakening it. Umbreon in anger used Bite, but missed again. The light-footed feline used Pay-Day, throwing coins at Umbreon. The Dark evolution of Eevee dodged all the coins except one, which did not hurt much but irritated him to the extreme; Umbreon darkened the battle arena, and sent a bright Confuse Ray toward Persian. The beam of light struck the cat's eyes and disconcerted its mind, sending it into wild spasms.

Meanwhile, Tyranitar began with a devastating Earthquake, forcing Dragonite to Fly into the sky and Blastoise to Withdraw into the safety of its shell. Metagross used Rock Slide while Rhydon simultaneously used Thunder, both directed at Dragonite. But the majestic Pokémon protected itself with a silvery Mirror Coat, and then Sky Attacked straight onto Tyranitar, knocking it over and causing it to slam onto the ground with a resounding _thud_. Blastoise, after the danger of the Earthquake was gone, came back out of its shell, ready to help.

On the other half of the arena, Metal Pichu and Metal Jigglypuff faced their originators, two on two, side by side. The puffball began with an unsuspected Sing attack, putting Metal Jigglypuff to sleep, but Metal Pichu escaped by using Agility, and with its dense 200-pound weight despite its tiny size, it grabbed Pichu, rolled backwards with him, and hurled him directly into the air while smashing him with its iron head. Before Jigglypuff could stop singing and help, Metal Pichu used Thunderbolt and damaged Pichu once again, although fortunately, since he was an electric type, he was resistant to the move. Jigglypuff walked up close to her sleeping clone and used Rest to create that satisfying effect of sending an opponent soaring away with a great deal of pain for such a simple move. However, as one may well know, this move also required the Balloon Pokémon to temporarily fall asleep, leaving her wide open to Metal Pichu.

Back in the sky, Mewtwo realized that his duel with Metal Mewtwo was getting him nowhere. _We're too evenly matched_ , he thought. _And it will eventually defeat me because of its advantage in mass…but…_ Mewtwo realized something. _Who said this battle needs to remain restricted to the little groups we've instinctively formed?_ And with that, the keen, quick-thinking Pokémon dodged one more jab from Metal Mewtwo, charged up a healthy-sized Shadow Ball, and hurled it down below, although in his haste he wasn't quite sure where it would hit…

Rhydon, preparing for another Thunder, was caught by surprise when, right after Tyranitar's fall, a large Shadow Ball knocked it over beside Tyranitar. Metagross looked up at Mewtwo and prepared a Hyper Beam.

Dragonite, seeing what Metagross was doing, tried to use Dragon Claw when suddenly Persian leapt onto his face and began Scratching mercilessly. Blastoise, however, was free to fire upon Metagross with a forceful Hydro Pump. The high-pressured cannonballs of water burst out of the giant turtle's shoulder cannons and nailed Metagross just as it released the Hyper Beam…

…which, misdirected, did not hit Mewtwo, but veered to the side and consumed Metal Mewtwo. The clone disintegrated in the high-energy beam, leaving behind smoking fumes in the air. Unlike before with Gary's Alakazam, this time it hadn't seen the Hyper Beam coming, and that had proven a fatal mistake.

Mewtwo came back down as Tyranitar and Rhydon rose up and restabilized themselves. Dragonite finally managed to fling off the Confused Persian, which collided into Rhydon and began attacking it instead. Espeon and Metagross interlocked in an intense Psychic clash, pushing into each other's minds and trying to get the better of the other. Umbreon went around Rhydon and Persian and crept up behind Tyranitar, who, amidst the chaos, could not hear Nascour screaming at it to turn around.

Things did not look good for Pichu and Jigglypuff, however. Pichu had instinctively used a Skull Bash to save the Resting Jigglypuff from Metal Pichu, and he met his target, but also caused himself a concussion from ramming into the metal body. Metal Pichu flew a few feet away, Jigglypuff woke up, and Pichu rubbed his head in pain. Jigglypuff charged up for a Rollout and released, but instead of hitting Metal Pichu, she collided into the descending Metal Jigglypuff, sending it toward Metagross (Metal Jigglypuff, being a balloon, did not weigh nearly as much).

Dragonite began generating a Hyper Beam of his own. Blastoise, seeing the trouble on the right, used Surf to ride over the battle on a spontaneous tidal wave and come crashing down onto Metal Pichu. The result was Blastoise collapsing shell-first onto the drenched clone, and although there was a slight dent in Blastoise's shell, Metal Pichu had been flattened and disfigured beyond repair; its tiny deformed body, almost pancake-flat, stopped moving.

Espeon was beginning to fail in his struggle with Metagross, and Mewtwo, seeing this, stepped in. Landing next to Espeon, the humanoid cat focused his own supreme psychic powers together with Espeon's against Metagross. Their combined effort overwhelmed the X-faced creature, and it slumped to the ground.

Umbreon leapt suddenly in a shadowy Faint Attack against Tyranitar, but his target was not affected much, as it was also part Dark type. The colossal green Pokémon unleashed a merciless Mega Punch on Umbreon, KO'ing Espeon's companion.

"Umbreon! Are you alright? Return!" Wes, holding up a Pokéball, returned the fallen black-and-gold Pokémon with a jet of red light.

As Metagross collapsed, Metal Jigglypuff's round form smacked into its head, and, as ineffective as it was, it provoked a much more dangerous response.

The metal puffball simply lay there dazed, but from the steel spider-like creature appeared shafts of hazardous white light. Metagross closed its dark red eyes, as if it were about to…

"Explosion!" Red cried out as he comprehended the situation. "Jigglypuff, Pichu, get out of there!"

"You too, Blastoise!" Gary instructed.

And so all those around the suicidal Metagross evacuated the premises—all, that is, except for the still-dazed Metal Jigglypuff.

 _BOOOOOOM!_

Needless to say, Metagross exploded.

After the dust cloud that was caused by the self-destruction cleared, remaining in the battle arena were Rhydon, Persian (no longer confused), Tyranitar, Mewtwo, Jigglypuff, Pichu (still with a headache), Dragonite, Blastoise, Espeon, and a humungous black spot where Metagross had previously been. Red, seeing Pichu's state of injury, tried to return him, but the yellow Pokémon jumped out of the way of the red beam of light, shaking his head. Red understood. He would not quit just yet.

Mewtwo and Espeon, recognizing the strength of their teamwork, focused another combined Psychic attack, this time on Tyranitar. But once again in their haste they forgot Tyranitar's Dark properties, which rendered it immune to all Psychic attempts. The huge Pokémon caused another Earthquake, sending several of the humans to their knees, and the vibrating and jolting was too much for Pichu's head to bear. But instead of fainting as the villains expected, the sky directly above the arena darkened with mutinous thunderclouds, and a Thunder surge came down, so strong that even Rhydon's Lightningrod quality was only able to absorb a small fraction of the lightning into its horn. The rest struck Rhydon with so much power that even its Type advantage was not able to prevent the agonizing pain which followed. The Rock/Ground Type beast roared with rage and fell face forward onto the ground, defeated. But this Thunder was not well controlled at all; Rhydon was, in fact, the luckiest of its victims. Another jagged chain of blinding whiteness crashed upon Blastoise, and yet another hit Nascour, the Cipher Second in Command, himself.

Sadly, it proved fatal for both.

Blastoise was weak against even the feeblest of Electric attacks; something like this was far too much for any Water Type to bear. It gave a deep moan and tried too hard to endure the hit. Blastoise's shell cracked in half, and the azure turtle lay slain upon the ground, much to the horror of its trainer, Gary. The spiky-haired youth ran up to Blastoise, desperately trying to arouse his first Pokémon, but there was nothing for it.

And, without question, such an extremely powerful bolt, if not survivable by a solid, durable Pokémon such as Blastoise, certainly could not be endured by the strong but lean Nascour. He screamed, his white hair flailing like Medusa's hair, his red eyes flashing with hatred, and died.

Pichu and Rhydon, needless to say, had survived by sheer luck, and the effort of their survival caused them to immediately faint. Both were returned to their respective Pokéballs.

If anyone was more horrified by this than Gary, it was Red. He, as Pichu's owner, felt somewhat responsible for Blastoise's death, and could not shake off the guilt building inside him. And it could only be imagined how Pichu felt, even though it wasn't his fault.

It was Tyranitar's.

Tyranitar, whose owner, despite the perishing of one of his own, cackled with insane laughter in response to the tragedy. Tyranitar joined his master in evil rejoicing, roaring savagely and advancing upon those who remained.

Jigglypuff just stood there, feeling insignificant and unhelpful.

Persian, amidst the general shock of the event, suddenly leapt at Espeon, and they engaged once more in a battle of agility. Mewtwo and Dragonite, on the other hand, now faced the murderous titan. The Dragon Pokémon used Dragon Breath while Mewtwo hurled another Shadow Ball, both no longer only intent on victory, but on vengeance on behalf of their fallen comrade. Tyranitar took both blows, and although they appeared to do some amount of damage, it shook off the pain and returned with Rock Throw. Mewtwo stopped each boulder in midair, then tossed them back into Tyranitar. Afterwards, not able to stop in his burning anger, Mewtwo used his mind to take control of Tyranitar's body, lifted it into the air, and began choking it with his outstretched hand from the same distance, Mewtwo's amethyst eyes livid.

This left Tyranitar open for Dragonite to finish it off. Dragonite projected a chilling Ice Beam which froze Tyranitar so that it was rendered even more immobile. Even though just knocking it out would have sufficed, Dragonite went one step further and took the risk of the Metronome attack. Every known move whirred in a rhythmic rotation inside Dragonite's mind, finally ending on one that would do well for his purposes: Fissure. The dragon flew high into the sky, shattering the translucent barrier and temporarily vanishing among the dispersing thunderclouds, then plummeted at a very high speed back to the earth. The force of Dragonite's impact with the ground rent the field in two, and a huge gap widened beneath where Dragonite had landed (and subsequently taken to the air once more). Tyranitar was not so fortunate, for as the Fissure spread wide enough, Mewtwo released his grip on the massive Pokémon, and Tyranitar descended into the endless darkness, not even able to make a sound because it was still frozen.

Meanwhile, the cat-like brawl between Espeon and Persian continued, evenly matched. But Espeon at last managed to Headbutt the sinister cat in the stomach, and Persian's trajectory descended into the gaping Fissure as well. Persian shrieked for its master as she disappeared into the deep nothingness.

The Fissure then closed, apparently satisfied with its offerings. The arena, now blackened, ravaged by lightning, and misaligned due to the Fissure and Earthquakes, was what remained, now that the battle was won.

Lance went over and thanked Dragonite for its noble service. Gary knelt beside his Blastoise in a manner eerily similar to what Red had recently done with his Charizard, his head bowed upon its split and dented shell. Wes congratulated his faithful Espeon and returned him to his Pokéball. Mewtwo and Jigglypuff still stood there, even Mewtwo on the ground, gazing at their remaining unarmed enemies. Red stood motionless, too much in denial to recall that there were still two human adversaries before them. This should have felt like a victory, yet it did not.

Giovanni and Evice didn't appear disturbed by the losses of their loyal Pokémon or of Nascour, but now were only concerned for their own safety, which had become a real problem seeing as they were defenseless. Nascour lay sprawled in between them.

Lance glared at the crime bosses. "You have not paid the price yet. After this war, you'll wish you had joined Nascour when you're punished for the crimes you've committed today, and throughout your entire lives."

"Ha!" Evice sneered. "That's what you think!"

He said this because his remote-operated helicopter was now hovering across the chaos toward Giovanni and the Cipher leader. They were trying to escape. It came too quickly for any of the others to respond, and was even now landing…they were going to get away….

A massive ball of orange and red fire burst into the helicopter, causing it to land, but not exactly smoothly or in one piece.

From above, the thunderclouds now cleared, a glittering rainbow was trailing behind the legendary bird Pokémon Ho-oh. Its seven-colored wings shone beautifully in the afternoon, and it squawked as it elegantly flew away, its work finished.

Evice stared, dumbfounded, at his ruined helicopter. "No," he ranted. "No, no, no, no, _NO_! Not again! Curse you, Ho-oh! Curse you all!" He began flailing about as if he were an immature child who had just lost a video game. Giovanni just shook his head with a sigh, standing several steps away with his arms folded, brooding yet another defeat. He couldn't rejoin Master Hand's war without his Pokémon, so there was nothing left for him to do.

Red and the other heroes watched in amazement as the rainbow arched across the sky. With the battle over, what was left of the purple barrier disintegrated, reminding them of the war still going on around them.

" _Everyone,"_ Mewtwo communicated, _"I don't think we need to worry about these two any longer. We must leave them here and rejoin the battle; it does not appear to be going as well as we'd hoped…."_

* * *

As Mewtwo had said, the battle on the northern front was not going well. The enhanced Wire Frames had continued to push back the Smash Brothers far enough so that when those in the arena finally triumphed, they found that the arena was an island in the midst of Master Hand's armies. Their allies were hundreds of feet behind them, so with the use of Dragonite and Mewtwo's gravity-defying expertise, they returned to the battle closer to the front (avoiding Aparoids and other flying hazards along the way).

The Boos persisted as an unstoppable barrier against Bowser and his armies; Lady Bow and Bootler, the only Boos on their side, could not do much against the hundreds of their kin fighting against them. Dozens and scores of fighters fell on both sides, but the damage seemed to be more taxing upon the side of Nintendo's defenders.

And even in other areas, where the natives of Kanto, Dreamland, Mushroom Kingdom, Beanbean Kingdom, Waffle Kingdom, and Hyrule made war, prospects were looking bleak. The average death ratio changed from about ten-to-one for the average Smash Brother to nearly one-to-one. And Master Hand would not run out of Wire Frames any time soon, while the Smash Brothers' numbers were extremely limited. If this kept up, they would be completely overrun by day's end. And all their efforts, all their determination to fight for freedom would be in vain, wasted, worthless.

Another long hour of violence passed, the defenders of the Nintendo World ever diminishing, slowly but surely. Even Biggoron was having difficulties with the many variations of Wire Frames: They jumped out of read of his giant footsteps, shot projectiles at his sensitive eyes, and scaled his limbs like ants, trying to bring the colossus down.

Mr. Game & Watch continued to duel his doppelganger alongside Young Link. They made quite a team with Oil Bucketed Fire Arrows and boomerang-Judgment Hammer combos, but neither side could gain a clear advantage over the other. Metal Young Link always seemed to be staring at its original with blank, pupil-less eyes, constantly reminding the boy of how he'd chased it across the entire Kingdom of Hyrule only for it to escape. And Metal Mr. Game & Watch was by far the strangest and most unique of all the metal characters: It was somehow both 3-D and 2-D at the same time. The Smashers and clones were so occupied with their duel that they paid little heed to the war raging around them.

Young Link had just kicked his metal rival to the ground when a foolishly deployed B-bomb fell from an Arwing and engulfed a number of Wire Frames extremely close to the boundary between the two armies, enveloping Metal Young Link as it spread toward the boy. Mr. Game & Watch and his double managed to escape with their trampolines and parachutes, but Young Link had no such ability. He was about to be engulfed, with nothing to do but brace himself for death, when an old Goron fighting nearby him noticed their imminent peril and saw Young Link. Darunia grabbed him without asking and hurled the youth back into the safety of the Smash Brothers' ranks, shouting, "Good luck, Brother!" as the B-bomb enveloped him as well. The Goron king had made his last sacrifice.

The Ganon massacre had, fortunately, seemed to turn out as a success for the original beast. For even though all the Ganondorf Frames had the same potential and powers as him, they were too inexperienced with the transformation into Ganon, and only Ganon himself had mastered the execution of the monster's powers. It had cut down Ganon Frame after Ganon Frame, and at the end when all others were destroyed, finished ceremoniously by impaling Metal Ganon with both its swords.

This, however, did not seem to kill the iron creature or even hinder it in the slightest. It took its identical metal swords and did the same to its flesh-and-blood counterpart, pushing both its swords through Ganon's chest and leaving them there in a manner similar to a certain circumstance in _Pirates of the Caribbean_. Except Ganon was not immortal. Ganon groaned in agony and fell to one knee. The beast shifted and mutated again, turning back into Ganondorf, but still grievously wounded. Dark blood seeped from the two holes, and Ganondorf looked up at his metal conqueror to get his last glimpse of life before it struck him down….

That is, it would have, had it not been for three purple shadows passing by. Vivian and her sisters happened to notice the giant metal beast during combat, and as one, the Shadow Sirens sent a steady barrage of purple flames upon Metal Ganon. Its metal features melted away like Metal Bowser's, and it disappeared into a puddle of molten iron which, due to Ganon's size and the sloping of the current terrain, became more of a small pond, purple flames still flickering across it.

"Come, sisters," Vivian said breathlessly. "Mario isn't around here. He must have gone to the fortress. Hurry!" The Shadow Sirens disappeared into the ground, too busy to heed the dying man who had only been a few yards away from them.

King Dedede, to his credit, _had_ fought hard. To his name could be accounted the defeat of at least 50 to 100 Wire Frames. But he was exhausted, and had pulled himself back behind his own lines. This was all looking hopeless to him and not likely to end well at all, especially for leaders like him. But when he saw Ganondorf fall, that was the end of the line. If he stayed here, he would be next. And as much as he believed in courage and bravery and freedom and all of that, this was not a cause which he was planning on dying for.

"RETREAT!" The king bellowed to his armies, the forces of Dreamland.

The Waddle Dees, Waddle Doos, Cappys, and all the rest halted and listened to the voice of their leader in confusion. King Dedede repeated his order, louder.

Hesitant at first, Dedede's followers finally obeyed and began fleeing in the opposite direction, back toward the city, the cowardly king the swiftest among them.

Of course, the other Smash Brothers beside Dreamland's forces noticed this. Young Link, who had coincidentally landed not far from Dedede, scurried on his fresh legs and overtook the king, forcing him to come to a temporary halt.

"What are you _doing_?" Young Link yelled. "This battle isn't over yet! Would you doom us all?"

"Better you than me, kiddo! I've got my own self tah look after. I'm gonna live through this mayhem even if we lose and things end up being run different than they used to be. Now get out of my way, fairy boy!" The pusillanimous penguin gave Young Link a rough shove and continued waddling. Young Link watched in dismay.

As he stood watching the forces of Dreamland leave, he suddenly felt a bony nudge in his back, and felt hot animal breath on the back of his neck. Young Link turned around and saw before him Rambi the Rhino, resident of the Kongo Jungle. The creature had an urgent look in his eye, silently communicating that something had gone terribly wrong, and that Young Link needed to come with him.

The boy nodded and climbed onto the rhino, which bore him on a rough, speedy ride across the Battlefields.

And now with the cowardly departure of King Dedede and Dreamland, the battle was faring even more worse for the Smash Brothers. There seemed no hope left; there were no obvious signs of anything being accomplished away in Master Hand's Room, and they were likely to capitulate before any form of success was achieved elsewhere. The dauntless determination with which the Smash Brothers had begun this final endeavor had been almost completely extinguished. The sun seemed to go down with the last of their hope. The Boos only grew stronger with the approach of night.

* * *

Finally, the last truant guardians of the Nintendo World arrived.

The setting sun caused the entire sky to glow orange and yellow and red. From the great ball attempting to slip below the horizon it seemed the first newcomers had appeared.

Ten black silhouettes against the bright sun drew nearer across the sky. With their forthcoming increased in volume a vaguely familiar whirring sound, the sound of nine propellers working to keep their vessels aloft. When they eventually came into clearer view from the west (for that is where the sun sets), almost everyone, Wire Frames and Smash Brothers alike, stopped everything they were doing to watch this small airborne party fly into the war zone.

Nine airplanes, each of different bright colors. One magic carpet. Diddy Kong had made his return.

In the lead were Diddy Kong himself in his red airplane and Taj the blue Elephant Genie, who rode atop the flying carpet. Behind them were the rest of the racers from Timber's Island: Conker the squirrel, Krunch the crocodile, Tiptup the turtle, Bumper the Panda, Timber the tiger, Pipsy the mouse, Drumstick the rooster, and even T.T. the walking, talking clock. Each was ready to fight for the sake of everything Diddy Kong had told them during his absence. For as Diddy Kong had once come to the aid of Timber's Island when it was threatened by the Wizpig, so, the chimp thought, the island's residents would feel impelled to return the favor if the circumstance arose. And the circumstance had most definitely arisen. This was where the acrobatic monkey had been the whole time: traveling via jetpack to a distant island he had nearly forgotten, though it still brought back memories of his old friends who he knew would be able to help him.

History aside, the friendly creatures from the days of Diddy Kong Racing had come to the aid of the Nintendo World in its time of need, and judging by the targets of their weaponry, whom they sided with was unmistakably clear. The airplanes zoomed above the sea of Wire Frames, dropping mines and shooting large red missiles. A few of them helped the Cornerian Fleet combat the still significantly large Aparoid army. Taj the Genie shot sparkling, whitish-blue balls of energy from his hands. As few as these fresh helpers were, they did much to restore the diminished morale of those who had almost given up.

And they were not alone in arrival.

From the direction of the city itself marched a forgotten faction of Bowser's army—one that had played a less significant role in recent years since the days of Yoshi's Island and had remained in another dimension from lack of use. Shy Guy's Toy Box, to be exact.

General Guy, in his heavily armored pink tank, advanced at the front of the thousand Shy Guys of the Shy Guy army. Every imaginable color and variation of Shy Guy was present in vast quantities: Stilt Guys, Spear Guys, Stack Guys, and even Flame Guys. Interestingly, all of them had retained their paper bodies in a non-paper world.

"One! Two! One! Two!" General Guy barked, keeping all the Shy Guys in perfect order. His multitude made a direct course toward where most of the Boos where still proving untouchable. General Guy reached Bowser and leaned over the edge of the tank toward his king. "King Bowser! I bring reinforcements from our residence inside the Toy Box. I overheard some travelers in our domain discussing a war, sir, the outcome determining the future of the Nintendo World. I followed them to the hotel, waited for everyone to leave, and nabbed the key so I could fetch my troops once we were prepared. Where would you have us fight?"

Bowser, still exhausted from his tussle with Metal Bowser, could not find words to express how relieved he was by these loyal reinforcements. He spoke with gruff pleasure. "Excellent work, General Guy! You come at the most opportune of times; your help is needed now more than ever. As for where to focus…" The Koopa King looked again at the battle at hand: There were the tough Wire Frames, yet even tougher—seemingly impregnable—were the traitorous Boos, led by their wicked monarch. "General, do you have any idea how to defeat the Boos? They've turned against us and sided with the enemy."

General Guy expertly screened the hectic scene, a stubby arm rubbing his chin. "Hm…King Boo has betrayed us? How very disappointing, my king…. A Star usually works; do you happen to have one?"

Bowser shook his head.

"Hm…then the best way I know to fool a ghost, sir, is to feign ignorance whilst turned away, then when they are closest, attack them with something penetrate their spiritual matter…."

"But what do we have that can do that, General?" Bowser asked.

"Why," General Guy said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "paper, of course!"

Meanwhile, from the southwest, yet another unexpected surprise arrived. Bottles, the goggle-wearing mole who had long mentored Banjo & Kazooie in their struggles against the witch Gruntilda, led eighty colorful Jinjos (small, pointy-nosed creatures that radiated sparkling magic) from their homeland of the Isle O' Hags. He was accompanied by his brother Jam-Jars, who wore a green military uniform and sunglasses and directed the Jinjos toward the Wire Frames, yelling, "Sally forth, Jinjos; we're not gonna let these punks endanger our brothers in the Nintendo World any more than if they'd come up to our own front doors. To battle!"

The cry went up: "Jinjo!" A flurry of color and sparkles ensued as the multicolored Jinjos lifted off from the ground and collided invincibly into the Wire Frames, tearing through the enemy lines like a savage, beautiful rainbow.

And this was not all.

From the east approached the other missing Smash Brother—the Rito Postman—and with him came the fruits of his absence. Flying in the opposite direction of Diddy Kong and his companions from Timber's Island, The Rito Tribe descended upon the Wire Frames with spears in hand, the Rito Chief leading the way. The red dragon Valoo roared and spewed fire into the midst of their enemies, the colors almost blending with the setting sun.

In summary, the morale and hope of the Smash Brothers had been rekindled by the new arrivals, and the Wire Frames, as difficult to face as they were in their 25 different incarnations, began to be pushed back once more. The Boos' weakness was being exploited by the paper Shy Guys, who tore through the ghosts' supernatural substance like diamonds cutting through glass. The defense against Master Hand's throngs was going well, but they could only hope the offense was faring the same….


	24. Chapter 19: The Other Laboratory (1)

Chapter 19: The Other Laboratory

* * *

 **P** rofessor E. Gadd took off in his hovercraft with Mumbo, Humba, Banjo, and Kazooie on board as the war commenced. He and the rest of those assigned to push toward the base outside of Master Hand's room (where the Wire Frames were being created and all their technology was produced) were situated on the southern side of the army, for this base was supposed to be located just below the room, and it would be easiest to reach from here. Not that it would be easy at all.

They could see the central band of fighters in their arrow point formation heading toward Master Hand's room, and beyond them to the north could spot some of the defenders ready to hold the line (whose experiences have been described in some detail in the previous chapter). A good number of these defenders—about half—were down here, of course, to hold back the southern hosts of Wire Frames as well.

But what Gadd's lot (consisting of his hovercraft, the creatures of the Kongo Jungle, the Topis and Polar Bears, the Yoshis, Mumbo, and Humba) were required to do was not defensive in any way. For they would have to penetrate through Master Hand's armies, and yet not through the arrow point strategy being implemented by the others, but by some other means. In addition to those listed, Dr. Mario had decided to go along with this division as well, and obviously the green Yoshi who was one of the Original 25 and the entire Kong family (minus Diddy Kong) were also among them. Dr. Mario ran ahead of the rest below the hovercraft; the animals and Yoshis, being less orderly than humans or other militaristic species, had nothing against intermingling with each other as they began to charge down the long slope toward the multitude of Wire Frames.

As was the case with the defenders, this charge seemed to go by in slow motion, climactically instilling both fear and courage within the heart of each fighter, bringing to pass the realization that this was it, that after this nothing would ever be the same again whether the result was good or ill, and that this could be their last day of life to shine forth and show what they were made of. The sensation of knowing they were fighting for a just cause, though they might soon die for it, was one of a kind.

So instead of bracing themselves, the assaulters (as they are to be called due to their goal of assaulting the base) sped forward and propelled themselves into the Wire Frames without any intent of stopping until they had reached their goal. The hovercraft, high enough to be out of reach of the Wire Frames below, avoided the few Aparoids that had diverted from their main body and attempted to attack it All of the Professor's attention was focused on maneuvering them safely to their destination. Kazooie successively fired fire, ice, and grenade eggs from her roost in Banjo's backpack. Mumbo, meanwhile, flung bursts of magenta magic at the few following Aparoids, and Humba poured boiling concoctions of questionable origin onto the Frames below, transforming them into any number of harmless creatures or even causing them to disintegrate.

A number of the Yoshis encased themselves within spotted eggs and bulldozed into their opponents while the rest used their heads, tails, feet, and egg-throwing ability to plow through the mindless purple slaves. Yoshi (the one who was a member of the Original 25) was the most adept at each of these techniques, and he led his herd with gentle confidence.

Polar Bears stomped on the ground, destabilizing many of the Wire Frames around them. They also used their bulky masses to simply push their way through their aggressors like moving walls. The small Topis followed the paths created by the Polar Bears and kicked their Freezies at the Frames who managed to get past the line, freezing solid at least one of them with each hit, often two or more.

Furthermore, the present Kong family led the many beasts of the jungle into battle with by far the widest variety of techniques (possibly excepting Mario's partners from his paper adventures). Donkey Kong wielded his Coconut Gun, firing many, many coconuts in spurts, headshots of course being the most effective. Tiny brandished her Feather Crossbow and took down a good number of Wire Frames as well, once in a while switching to her saxophone and blasting them away with waves of musical energy. Lanky ran hand-standing the entire time, leaping acrobatically or dodging enemies, mowing down a line at a time with sudden bursts of speed, and kicking their faceless heads with his hand-like feet. Chunky plowed forward with his Pineapple Launcher and the occasional spinning punch.

Kiddy Kong was actually the only Kong who relied entirely on his own brute force, but with the size and weight of this mighty gorilla, he need not rely on anything else. Kiddy did, however, fight alongside his cousin Dixie, following her lead, and often teamed up with her and executed rolling and jumping maneuvers which confused and overwhelmed many adversaries. Dixie whipped her hair around, occasionally jumping and floating above the Wire Frames with her ponytail propeller when she wanted a brief respite.

Cranky Kong, as unimaginable as it was, unleashed his long-dormant karate skills, proving that all his boasting about his fighting prowess had not been only talk. Candy Kong was the only Kong who was not accustomed to fighting; however, even though her charm was not enough to seduce such heartless foes, she proved to be so skilled in playing the flute on the move that her radiant waves of musical energy covered an area more than twice than that of Tiny's or any other Kong's. Funky Kong no longer had to pretend to be using his weapons, for now he was constantly triggering a hinged punching glove device with one hand while firing explosive oranges out of a bazooka over his left shoulder, sometimes switching the bazooka out for his innovative watermelon seed machine gun.

The other various monkeys, like a bunch of Diddy Kongs, cart-wheeled, spun, and performed other acrobatics while pushing through the Wire Frames. Squawks the Parrot and his fellow birds pecked at random enemies from above or dropped rocks, coconuts, and large nuts. Expresso the Ostrich and his flock trampled over their foes like an organized stampede. Squitter the Spider incapacitated as many Wire Frames as he could by spitting thick web pellets. Ellie the Elephant simply trudged over the Frames or knocked them over with high-pressure jets of water from her trunk (when her supply of water was depleted, she resorted to saliva). Finally, King K. Rool led his masses of crocodiles of varying shapes and sizes into the engagement. The king advanced with the cheering approval of his minions, using his punching gloves to their full potential, and also took advantage of a substantial number of orange grenades. The many variations of Kremlings followed after his enthusiasm, most of them applying some sort of fighting style that involved biting and clawing. Klumps, with pink scales and enormous orange bellies, were especially useful in using their rubbery stomachs to cause any and all Wire Frames in their way to rebound off of them into each other, clearing paths with ease.

In this manner, the assaulters broke through the opposing ranks, clearing through them and continuously moving forward. The weak Wire Frames put up a rather pathetic resistance with an occasional jab or kick, but were capable of doing little to delay them or slow them down. As with the defenders, Gadd and the others found their progress surprisingly easy as they covered ground much more quickly than expected—that is, until they reached the end of Master Hand's feeble Wire Frames separated only by gender, and penetrated the enhanced ones resembling each of the Original 25. This was the tougher meat, the bitterer layer of cake, the thick section of hard clay beneath the comparatively thin crust of dirt. Their velocity slowed dramatically with the challenge of these beefed-up baddies. The assaulters kept moving forward, but with much greater resistance. On the bright side, the large industrial base could be seen in the far distance, although there was no sign of Master Hand's room behind it.

Along with the tougher Wire Frames, two metal clones appeared together in a lethal combination.

Metal Yoshi and Metal Dr. Mario. The latter was riding the former, almost reminiscent of old times.

Yoshi and Dr. Mario saw this dangerous pair, looked at each other, and nodded. They suddenly knew what fate had destined them to do. Dr. Mario jumped and landed on Yoshi's back, and the two faced their metal nemeses on the run.

The base grew ever nearer, but casualties on the assaulters' side were not few. The right and left flanks were especially vulnerable to spontaneous attacks from the Wire Frames.

Seeing the increased struggle below, Gadd pressed a big red button on the control panel of the hovercraft. A hatch on the bottom opened, and hundreds of what appeared to be flashlights tumbled out. The professor's action soon made sense when the flashlights folded out of themselves into full-fledged Combat R.O.B.'s, which hovered and scooted over the ground, bombarding the Wire Frames with lasers and missiles.

The two Yoshis ran side by side, firing projectiles (i.e. eggs and half-digested enemies) at each other. The Dr. Marios, meanwhile, each chucked Megavitamins in the other's general direction while ducking to avoid eggs. The metal eggs and Megavitamins obviously would cause much more pain if they hit, but fortunately, one of the advantages Yoshi and Dr. Mario had was that they were lighter and more agile, and consequently were able to dodge everything sent their way.

During all of this, they were moving along with the assaulters toward the base; the main difference in their motives was that Metal Dr. Mario and Yoshi were clearly trying to _prevent_ their counterparts from reaching it, and were trying everything in their power to do so.

Yoshi held an especial grudge against Metal Yoshi for his failure against it during the tournament, and he felt more determined than ever not to fail this time around. He jumped and fluttered to avoid various obstructions in his path, primarily Wire Frames. Dr. Mario, as fascinated as he was by scientific marvels such as these metal Smashers, was just as focused on defeating his duplicate, which somehow seemed to draw him to it as much as it was drawn to him.

After a while, the base looming ever nearer, the clones began to grow desperate, and they resorted to merciless full-contact blows in an effort to at least dislodge the Italian doctor from his adorable steed. Yoshi, however, took these hits with more resilience than their adversaries deemed possible; Dr. Mario clung onto Yoshi's back as if he did it for a living. Yoshi noticed a Jigglypuff Frame performing a Rollout attack toward them, snared it into his mouth with his sticky red tongue, and then spat the still-spinning puffball at Metal Dr. Mario.

The purple ball, while not heavy, threw Metal Dr. Mario off balance as it smacked it in the head. And while such unsteadiness was occurring, Yoshi took advantage of this and threw Dr. Mario like an egg at them, ahead of their current position in order for the distances to even out by the time the human projectile reached its target.

"Yahoo!" the doctor cheered as he kicked sideways with both his feet, knocking Metal Dr. Mario off of Metal Yoshi altogether. The metal doctor fell back into the mass of Yoshis, monkeys, and other animals, and was subsequently trampled to death.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mario had, almost comically, landed on the back of Metal Yoshi. Upon noticing this unwelcome rider, it bucked and jerked like a wild bull trying to throw him off. Yoshi, seeing this, did the only thing he knew would keep the doctor safe: He ate him. With the doctor in his mouth, however, Yoshi was unable to run with as much agility. He looked for a safe place to deposit the contents of his mouth, but before he could think clearly, Metal Yoshi was coming back at him, going for a sideways ram with its head. Yoshi instinctively spit Dr. Mario straight upwards, and dodged his iron counterpart's bash just in time.

Dr. Mario cried out as he soared into the air, hundreds of creatures passing by below, and then he descended, unable to see where he would land. Luckily for him, he happened to land on an ostrich, which provided both a soft landing and a means of keeping up with the group.

Yoshi and Metal Yoshi were now at each other hardcore; Yoshi seemed to sense that this would be his last chance to prove himself, his last chance to finally defeat his metal rival. But he had no idea to how to win; Metal Yoshi was stronger in every way except speed, which didn't seem to be helping much at the moment. _The only thing hard enough to vanquish it_ , Yoshi thought, _is itself..._

 _Itself…that's it!_

The green dinosaur waited for Metal Yoshi to toss another metal egg, and sure enough, a heavy metal sphere soon came flying his way. But this time, Yoshi was ready. He hopped with a yelp of effort and caught the egg in both his arms like a football. Landing softly on his red boots, Yoshi then strenuously rushed forward ahead of Metal Yoshi, running directly in front of it, and heaved the metal egg with all his might behind him.

It was a success. Metal Yoshi took his own weapon full in the face, causing it to double over and tumble to the ground.

Yoshi rejoiced in his own cute way, but before he could turn forward again to see how close they were, Metal Yoshi pounced forward again, high into the air, and executed a deadly Yoshi Bomb which was calculated to nail Yoshi's noggin. The maddened metal creature plummeted too quickly for Yoshi to react or stop; it was going to kill him….

Suddenly, a blue Arwing laser zapped Metal Yoshi into permanent inactivity, saving Yoshi from a gruesome end. But when Yoshi saw the craft responsible, he realized it wasn't an Arwing at all; it was a Wolfen—the Black Rose, to be exact.

"Panther lends his assistance to all creatures in need," Panther said proudly, speaking in third person as always and doing a victorious barrel roll. Before Yoshi had a chance to shout his thanks, the cat and his ship had veered away, back into the battle with the Aparoids.

The base was nigh at hand as the assaulters pressed on. They could see the wide, perfectly flat field occupied by dozens of Wire Frame Pods. Every few seconds, a newly born Wire Frame would step out of each the pods—even now, during the battle of a lifetime. It sickened Gadd to witness the continual spawning of Master Hand's ever-growing forces. He was even more astonished, however, when they were close enough to see the small hovering machines with eyedropper-like protrusions consistently nourishing the pods with a fuming green potion. _Reeka_ , the professor thought.

At the end of this plain, even more impressive was the great and spacious laboratory Gadd knew they would find here. It was constructed of a shiny black metal almost like obsidian, but no doubt extremely durable. It looked even more impenetrable than Gadd's own lab. Huge, dark circular windows high on the structure seemed to look out across the Battlefields like so many sinister eyes. Massive plumes of black smoke billowed out of tall industrial towers along the roof of the imposing building as if they were the remains of whatever innocent beauty had ever been taken inside those foreboding double doors placed like steel guards at the front.

But what was most disconcerting about this entire view to the leader of the Smash Brothers was not the field, nor even the laboratory. It was the fact that behind the lab, there was nothing save an ever-stretching purple plain, continuing endlessly into the distance. There was no sign of a shoreline, no figures upon this seemingly infinite stretch of land, and, most importantly, no suggestion of a giant room at all. Master Hand's room could not be seen, although when Gadd thought about it, he had to admit to himself that he hadn't known what to expect the outside of the room to look like; he had imagined towering walls stretching halfway to the sky in a gigantic square, and a giant door at the entrance like most rooms had. But then again, Master Hand's was not like most rooms. There was nothing the professor could do at the moment other than hope Mario and the others would find a way inside. Gadd's first instinct had been to take the mine shaft back up past the old headquarters into the room, but the tunnels had caved in so much that it would have taken months to clear a path to the exit, and even then, it was doubtful that Master Hand would allow them to sneak up on him from such a close distance when he had already massacred their headquarters using that very passage.

But now, back to the task at hand. Another downward slope and, of course, masses of Wire Frames separated the assaulters from their destination. With the end in sight, the Smash Brothers plowed forward with reinvigorated energy and enthusiasm, ready to end their part in this war as swiftly as possible.

Interestingly, the first one to reach and obliterate one of the Wire Frame Pods was King K. Rool. As the king charged forward, bellowing in his reptilian fury, at least a dozen of his Kremlings set up one of the Klumps on the ground not far in front of him. The crocodile, with another manic yell, leapt onto the round beast and bounced off the elastic orange belly, launching himself high into the air over the rest of the Smash Brothers and Wire Frames below him. The reptilian heavyweight rolled forward in the air and belly-flopped, as he had aimed, onto the foremost pod. K. Rool's body slam burst the pod like a waterbed, spilling purple goo across the luminous surface around it.

This first aggressive blow urged the rest forward, and soon K. Rool was joined by the other creatures in the assault on the spawning plain. The mindless hovering robots tried to continue their work, but were destroyed primarily by Yoshi eggs. The newly born Wire Frames did not have time nor experience to react before they were mown down with the rest. The assault gradually spread across the plain, steadily eliminating the enemy's sources of regeneration.

Gadd's hovercraft, however, did not join in this work, for the professor had another matter to attend to. The craft sped toward the lab itself, the professor not feeling prepared to ever face his cousin again, even though he knew it had to be done. Unhindered, the hovercraft landed near the steel double doors at the front of the building.

The professor climbed out, and Humba, Mumbo, and Banjo & Kazooie made to follow him, but Gadd barred them from following with a raised hand.

"No. Banjo, Kazooie, you've been two of my most loyal followers. Mumbo and Humba, you have been a great asset to the Smash Brothers. But I must do this alone. I've got a feeling in my gut that my nemesis won't accept anyone else inside besides me; I have no doubt he'll kill you immediately without giving you a chance. If I don't succeed, then you must—"

Then a loud grating sound came from the roof of the black laboratory, and the flapping of enormous wings could be heard. The shadow of a great winged shape began to pass over them. The professor wasted no more time with words, and used the laser cutter on his watch to slice through the steel doors. Within a few seconds, a considerable gap had been made, and Gadd, with a nod, disappeared into the ominous structure, wondering what end awaited him.

Banjo & Kazooie had only a moment to contemplate their brave leader's act before the giant flying thing took flight, evidently toward the assaulters. From above, it breathed in a wheezy, harsh way that seemed extremely familiar to them, but they couldn't quite place from where. Banjo & Kazooie, deciding to leave the hovercraft for E. Gadd's use when he returned ( _not_ if _,_ Banjo thought), took flight themselves using the Breegull's red wings, intent on warning the rest of the assaulters of the incoming terror and doing what they could to confront it.

"Bear and bird can handle big heap beast," Humba reasoned as the two shamans watched them take flight. Then they turned around and looked up at the huge building. "But as for him…"

"We follow orders," Mumbo finished sternly.

"But there be great evil in black machine house!" The Indian woman spoke with unusual concern in her voice.

"There also be more than one way to follow orders," the skull-headed magician replied with a skeletal smile.

* * *

Back at the opposite end of the spawning plain, the assaulters continued to plow their way across the base, eliminating each of the domes and any Wire Frames that happened to be there. By now, well over half of the plain had been overrun, and they were not too far away from the huge black laboratory when Banjo & Kazooie came flying frantically into view, the great dark shadow advancing through the skies far behind them.

"Watch out!" Kazooie cried out as loud and far as the poultry's voice could carry. "Look to the skies, you dorks!"

From their current perspective, the approaching beast appeared by to be a sort of fat dragon with a large head not unlike that of a Yoshi with giant wings—although these, thin and fluttering rapidly, were more similar to the wings of a dragonfly. Its large belly protruded from beneath, causing one to wonder how such a massive creature could be kept in the air with such weak wings. But finally, when it drew close enough, the bear and bird could see the finer details of their opponent, and this question was answered in the strangest of ways.

The flying thing was not _mass_ ive at all; in fact, it probably weighed less than King K. Rool despite the fact that it was twenty times his size. Indeed, this being was so light that it was no wonder the dragonfly wings, which in fact they were, were able to bear it aloft. For there could be no mistake: the bulk of this enemy was none other than Mr. Patch, one of Banjo's old adversaries capable of inflating himself to enormous sizes, as was demonstrated in this instance. The Yoshi-like head was green with several goofy, square white teeth sticking out at the front. The head was covered with several colored patches (hence the name) around two large, cartoonish eyes. Mr. Patch's voluminous body was also covered with checkered, striped, and other fabric design patches, and the areas that were still green had a certain rubbery sheen. However, in addition to the dragonfly wings, Mr. Patch had somehow picked up instead of arms and legs dark red claws and feet with sharp, lethal tips, and the spine along his back was of the same bloody hue.

Banjo & Kazooie halted mid-flight, gaping in bewilderment and horror at the bizarre reincarnation of one of their former enemies. Mr. Patch had always been strange and wobbly in his prime, but neither could imagine how he had managed to become this… _thing_.

Below, Donkey Kong and his companions recognized the source of Mr. Patch's unusual features: From the days of old when DK Isle had been threatened with destruction, the monkeys distinctly recalled a particular giant Dragonfly that had caused them much grief, whose skin was the same dark red. And both they and Banjo finally understood what was going on here. Just like the Shadow Hand, just like Piranha Gohma, here was yet another corrupt, hideous biological combination of two completely different beings, courtesy of this insane evil scientist Gadd had talked about—Professor U. Reeka.

Mr. Patch gave a long, wheezy laugh. "Ha, ha, ha! We meet again, bear and bird! Yes, you temporarily punctured my body and put an end to my circus stardom, but luckily, an ingenious professor found my rubber remains inside the big-top, and after a series of patching and experimenting, finally merged me with a ferocious Dragonfly into this new, invincible me! Prepare to meet the wrath of Mr. Dragon Patch!"

"Uh-oh," Banjo said. "It looks like we're going to have to fight you again."

" _Mr. Dragon Patch?"_ Kazooie twittered, rolling her eyes and suppressing ecstatic laughter. "You've gotta be _kidding_ me."

* * *

The four-foot professor proceeded with great caution into the black laboratory—even more than he would into the haunted mansion. He felt extremely anxious, even fearful, about simply waltzing into the domain of his nemesis without invitation, or, more importantly, any idea of what could await him inside. And the great room inside Reeka's base appeared just as outlandish as old man had imagined it.

The ceiling of this large chamber was some six stories high, and its rectangular floor extended hundreds of feet both lengthwise and widthwise (the length being approximately two-thirds longer). There were doors located around the walls of the extensive room leading, no doubt, to other wings of the facility. In the very center was a towering column of glass, a couple yards in diameter, which extended from the black floor all the way up to the distant ceiling above. There, the tube branched off into several polished pipelines which zigzagged, looped, and branched off along the vast black walls. Inside this vertical glass tube was the same sickly, fuming green mixture that had been distributed by the small mechanized workers to the Wire Frame Pods outside. The liquid filled the column about one-third of the way up, its fumes rising to the top.

Rings of fluorescent light, alternating between red and purple, encompassed the lab by running along the perimeter and curving over pipelines. There was another rod of light wending its way around the interior every five feet up, providing plenty of visibility, but creating the effect of a twisted, alien presence at work. And even with this lighting, there were plenty of shadows and dark, uninviting corners. A winding metal staircase rose like a corkscrew to the higher levels of the lab, which were accessible through metal walkways running along the perimeter parallel to the lights. The vicinity around the central column of glass had a wide ground which sloped up and around the column and back down to complete the cycle; this ground was covered in a metal plating that reflected the uncomfortable red and purple light radiating from the walls. Within this chamber, the whirring and beeping of the control panel at the base of the column echoed loudest, but many other noises, including buzzing, drilling, cranking machinery, the rushing of liquid, and even a bubbling, gurgling noise.

Everything Professor E. Gadd saw, heard, and felt at this point made him feel so very unwelcome (even though he _was_ technically invading it), and inexpressibly intimidated; he felt as if all his work back at his lab, all his experiments, inventions, and ideas, were utterly foolish and useless in comparison to the grandeur of his cousin's work. The only thing keeping him from turning back and running away was his determination to do his part as leader of the Smash Brothers, for he knew he was the only one who stood a chance at disestablishing this infernal hole of abominations. Remembering Piranha Gohma, he didn't want to even begin to consider what else he might find here. Gadd drew up all the courage he could muster, virtually defenseless save his ingenious mind, and slowly began walking forward.

The professor's black shoes clanged on the metal surface, in reality not significant in comparison to the dozens of other sounds, but to Gadd it seemed to overpower all other noise, resounding through the whole lab to alert the one in charge. But there was no response; on further inspection, Gadd saw that there were two doors on each of the walls to his left and right, both walls about a hundred feet away. He looked up again at the rows of lights and catwalks, but saw no moving figures. Then, seeing the complicated control panel covered with flashing buttons, switches, levers, touch screens, and keypads at the base of the vertical tube, the scientist began to approach it. This array of input devices reminded him of the control panel Reeka had used on his life-sized model of Death Mountain, the one which he, Gadd, had been slammed into and caused the volcanic mountain to erupt, destroying everything he had ever loved….

"Yes, familiar, isn't it?" said a voice similar to his own, but slightly higher pitched, hissy, and containing a touch of insanity.

Professor E. Gadd turned around to see that which he'd hoped never to see again: the ashy brown tuft of hair, the small pointy teeth, the dark gray lab coat, and—most of all—the diamond-shaped glasses covering the ingenious derangement of Professor U. Reeka's eyes. His cousin was between him and the exit; there was no going back now.

Reeka gave a sharp-toothed smile. "In fact, Elvin, this actually _is_ the same control panel; after the force of your body caused it to malfunction and everyone went into a panic, I salvaged the broken remains, modified it, and designed it for a new purpose." This feign of friendliness did nothing to assuage Gadd's sense of imminent hostility. Reeka's lenses glinted. "And you know what that purpose is, don't you, cousin?"

The non-maniacal professor decided it may as well be worth making conversation with his evil nemesis; perhaps he could catch him off guard.

"How did you survive? Your body was said to have been found dead outside your lab in the Icicle Mountains."

"Really, Elvin? I think you could answer that question yourself. But if you want confirmation, I'll be glad to oblige. I built my lab on Mountain #32 two purposes. First, to get as far away from you as possible, where you wouldn't think to search for me. Not that I thought you would search at all; no, I always knew you would be too afraid to seek revenge on me, but I have always remembered how your foolish antics forever destroyed my reputation as the most brilliant scientist in the Nintendo World. So I knew I would have to be the one to strike back.

"Anyway, the second reason for building a base in the Icicle Mountains was that it gave me an environment where I could study and experiment on several fascinating subjects at once: the wildlife, the weather, and the stars, for instance. I was successful, for the first time, in combining the DNA of a Polar Bear and a Topi into one creature: a prototype I called a Topi Bear. I decided to let my creation roam free to see how it reacted to the natural environment, and have discovered that fused beings are completely independent, not feeling any connection to other beings of one of the species from which they were made. Local hikers and skiers, amusingly enough, refer to it as the Abominable Snowman.

"I also learned enough from the stars about the Seven Star Spirits and the Star Rod to become aware of their power, only available through the granting of sincere wishes. I have shared my concerns with my Master about the Spirits, and, as evidently demonstrated in the Battle of Fourside, they had great power and, until then, were a considerable threat. But now that their Star Rod has been drained of power for quite some time, there is nothing left to fear from them. The only subject, it seemed, in which I did not have much success was in manipulating the weather.

"You see, I knew that if I could gain control of the elements, I would have supreme power over the entire planet, able to completely annihilate an entire island at my slightest whim. But I was unable to identify the formula for the cold fusion I needed in order to build a machine that could do so. I don't suppose you've made any vain attempts at controlling the elements yourself, eh, Elvin?"

Gadd, despite himself and his caution, could not help but be interested in the wondrous sciences his dastardly cousin had been studying. "Actually, Reeka, yes I have. I've been working on an elemental teleporter of sorts. By condensing and energizing the atoms of any material object and then propelling the pressurized matter into open air, I'll soon be able to send any item or person to any destination through the air as a tiny particle. I call it the Eleportationizer 1000."

Reeka gave a short, delirious laugh. "You _would_ do that! Using atomic heating or whichever other science to benefit mankind…that's always been your aim, hasn't it? To make everyone happy and so dependent on technology that they don't have to hardly lift a finger! You haven't changed much, Elvin, I'm sorry to say."

"And _I'm_ sorry to say," Gadd said, "that neither have you. But still, you leave my question unanswered. How did you survive when the authorities found your corpse and buried it in a cemetery a week later?"

Professor U. Reeka retained his demented grin. "You know how I am with biology. I love to explore every possibility. And in that mountain laboratory—which was plasma-heated, by the way—I finally managed to accomplish something I'd been striving to do for quite some time: I created a clone of myself.

"You see, ever since the Death Mountain incident, the Fourside authorities have been all over the Nintendo World, secretly trying to find and apprehend me and put a stop to my experiments. And knowing the authorities or someone or other was bound to eventually stumble upon my lab, I decided to use my clone to fake my own death and thus shake them off my trail. I suffocated it inside its life tank, and then took it out and left it in the snow, just out of sight of the lab. Sure enough, someone found it, and the great Professor U. Reeka was forgotten for a time.

"But still, I was forced to flee the Icicle Mountains, for the authorities would search the entire area after finding someone of my reputation, and I knew they would not hesitate to break into my lab. Using one of my most effective methods of transportation—one that, shall we say, provided for a _colorful_ escape—I exiled myself once again, but this time headed into the Battlefields, and then to Master Hand's Room. He received me well, knowing the invaluable support I could provide for the fulfillment of his magnificent ideas. So he and I made a pact: that I would devote myself and my talents to his service, and he in return would guarantee my protection and supremacy over my enemies. Now that pact is about to be completed. And here I am before you today, Elvin: more powerful, better funded, and soon to be a greater scientist than you ever were, or ever will be."

"I'm having a hard time believing your story, Reeka," Professor E. Gadd said, not sure how much longer his cousin would be willing to chatter. "For one thing, how did you acquire the specimens, as you would call them, for these abusive experiments of yours? The Shadow Hand, Piranha Gohma, and whatever is terrorizing my armies out there…surely you couldn't have personally traveled to all of these places and captured each creature, especially the essence of the Shadow Queen. And another thing—I know you well enough to realize that you wouldn't go through all this work just to come out as a powerful underling; what do you really have planned?"

"Always as inquisitive and curious as ever, cousin." Reeka gave another chuckle of delirium. "Master Hand, of course, was very early on willing to listen to my requests for my experiments, and as the Supreme Being over This World, he had his ways of procuring my specimens. The Shadow Queen's essence was difficult to acquire, I'll admit, but it was well worth it; the Shadow Hand served us well over the course of its short life."

The mad scientist lowered his voice so that it was soft and sinister. "And as for only being a servant, it is true that Master Hand is mightier even than me, and by simple mortal means I would never myself be able to overpower him. But let's just say that after he has claimed dominion over This World, his trust in me will lead him to gradually grant me more authority, and as soon as he has entrusted me with enough power to turn against him, he will find himself trying to combat his own power, and by it will be replaced by a more suited Emperor of the Nintendo World—me." The insanity of Gadd's nemesis truly manifested itself as Reeka let out a long, loud, high-pitched cackle that echoed throughout the laboratory for what seemed like an age.

 _He really is mad_ , Gadd thought. _But the problem is, he's both mad_ and _a genius…._

Gadd composed himself the best he could and cleared his throat. "Well, Reeka, I come to you with two options: the permanent end of your perverse practices as well as your unconditional surrender, or your complete and utter destruction. Either way, the evil you are involved in will end here and now; it's up to you whether you will end with it. I've known you my entire life, and I know you're a scientist of genius and talent equal to my own, but the way you use your gifts is immoral and unacceptable. Turn away from your wicked ways now, or I'll be forced to bring an end to my own cousin along with the tyranny of Master Hand."

U. Reeka chuckled yet again. "Now we get down to it, the meat and potatoes of our pleasant discussion. But I'm afraid, Elvin, it will not be Master Hand who will be falling, and it will not be me who will be faced with complete and utter destruction. The time has come, my good cousin, for me to showcase the fruits of my labors over the past six years. You will come to know the power of my inventions, and at last, I will be able to exact my revenge on the relative who murdered my father and destroyed my reputation. _Prepare to meet your match, Elvin!"_

"NOW!" Professor E. Gadd yelled into the hidden communicator on his ear as he dived away from his cousin. Reeka had suddenly pointed his right fist at Gadd and pressed a button on his watch, shooting a stream of crackling blue electricity at the spot where his rival had just been standing. Instead, the bolt reverberated off the ground and bounced up into the glass pillar, shattering it into thousands of pieces. The fuming green liquid poured out of the tube, spilling onto the floor and the control panel, which sputtered and blew its internal fuse, sending a thick stream of smoke up toward the high ceiling. A loud siren went off in response, and a bright red warning light flared off and on.

And burning through the steel front door with lasers were dozens of Combat R.O.B.'s at Gadd's command, prepared to incapacitate any enemy. Reeka looked behind him and was enraged by the robotic intruders. "You won't win that easily, Elvin!" He screamed as he activated a hidden jetpack on his back and blasted into the air.

Gadd yelled another command to his R.O.B.'s, pointing at the rising form of Reeka. "Attack!" Red lasers shot up at the flying figure, but they were unable to hit it.

Reeka turned around and fired another stream of blue electricity. The bolt hit the foremost R.O.B. and immediately blew its fuse, shutting it down. But the electricity wasn't finished; it chain-reacted, leaping from one robot to the next and terminating each one until the room was filled with smoking R.O.B.'s, their eye sockets that were usually filled with yellow light burned out.

Reeka's manic laugh faded as he fled, ascending the interior of the great building. Gadd punched a complicated combination of buttons into his watch, and in less than a second, the prototype of his new Poltergust 5000 had sped into the lab and parked in front of him. It looked much the same as the 4000, but had several improvements and new features, including the ability to travel vertically as well as horizontally.

Gadd climbed onto his machine and took off up the vast chamber after his cousin.

 _This is it_ , he thought.


	25. Chapter 19: The Other Laboratory (2)

"Well, maybe it's not the most creative or fitting of names," Banjo told Kazooie as they flew toward the huge inflated mutant. "But we've gotta take this seriously all the same, Kazooie." As they were coming from behind, Mr. Dragon Patch could not see them at the moment, but he was aware of what they were trying to do and was slowly turning around with his large claws and dragonfly wings.

Below, most of the assaulters, seeing Banjo & Kazooie in the air, continued their raid and left the boss fight to the Intense difficulty graduates. However, Donkey Kong, Tiny, Lanky, Chunky, and Funky had stopped to draw their weaponry and aim it at the giant evil balloon, waiting for it to draw low enough for its many vulnerable patches to be within range. But for now, it was up to the bear and bird.

"Here we go!" Banjo yelled over the noise of the wind whipping around them. "You know what to do! You see that patch right on the—"

Kazooie, however, wasted no more time with talk, brought her beak back, and rushed the pair forward into a large red patch on Mr. Dragon Patch's rubbery buttocks, which happened to be directly below a spiked, dark red dragon tail. The Dragonfly appendage had become part of the demented inflatable.

Mr. Dragon Patch bellowed in pain, and thrashed about as Kazooie's beak punctured the patch, causing some of his air to deplete from his densely packed, gaseous innards. The force of the escaping air blew Banjo & Kazooie backwards into the dragon's wildly swinging tail and sent them careening sideways, rolling over and over, until they finally stabilized themselves. By then, Mr. Dragon Patch had completely turned around to face them, actual flames flaring from his nostrils.

"Kazooie, be more careful next time! Don't be so rash!" Banjo shook his head back and forth to overcome his dizziness.

"Hey, clown face!" Kazooie shouted, completely disregarding Banjo's warning. "Did that feel good? No? Well, what are you, a fat, torn up, sorry-excuse-for-a-mutated-dragon-freak gonna do about it? Cough up beach balls at us like last time? Oooh, I'm so scared—"

Banjo reached up with one paw and clamped it around Kazooie's beak. "Keep your foul beak shut, Kazooie, or we'll make him _really_ angry…"

"Hm…." Kazooie pretended to consider the intensity of Mr. Dragon Patch's building rage. "I'm pretty sure we ticked him off already by stabbing him in the butt, so I think we can safely assume that he's not in a mood to negotiate."

"Darn right I'm not!" Mr. Dragon Patch boomed in his throaty, resonant voice. "Let's see how well your filthy beak can stab… _these!_ " And sure enough, the inflated dragon wheezed several times and coughed out, as Kazooie had predicted, beach balls. But the reason why these particular balls would not be easy to stab was because these beach balls were _on_ _fire_. And yet they didn't pop, hurtling toward their target like weightless, spinning comets. What was more, they didn't just continue on an aimless path after passing their target, but rather looped around like heat-seeking missiles and came back for a second attempt.

The airborne duo dodged the first several flaming beach balls, but realized this fact as the beach balls came back from behind them.

"Kazooie!" Banjo shouted. "Think! What counteracts fire?"

"Well, duh! That's obvious!" Kazooie spat out first these words, then a number of Ice Eggs. Each one, upon contact with a fiery ball, froze it solid in midair, quenching the flames and all movement, ignoring gravity entirely. Then, while they were flying toward the frozen spheres, Banjo quickly took off his backpack with Kazooie inside and swung it at the beach balls, shattering them. The swinging helped to keep the bear in the air.

"Ow! What the heck do you think you're doing?" Kazooie shrieked as Banjo reshouldered the backpack so they could continue flying. "You're only supposed to do that when we're separated, you bonehead!"

"Oops, sorry," Banjo apologized, not looking very sorry. "I forgot."

As they turned back to Mr. Dragon Patch, the inflated beast was moving steadily toward them on his dragonfly wings, preparing for another attack.

"Hold on!" Kazooie yelled, as if Banjo could have let go. The Breegull dived toward their enemy while firing at least a dozen grenade eggs aimed in the direction of the remaining patches. The green projectiles sped toward their targets as bear and bird tilted downward to gain speed and then came up again on the other side to reach the remaining vulnerable spots.

Mr. Dragon Patch croaked in pain as several more holes were punctured in his rubber skin, and he shrunk to about three-fifths his original size.

"That's it! No more messing around! Let's see how well this professor's upgrades work…" The boss clenched his claws together, and began glowing and shimmering with a fiery red coating. "Ha! Now not only can you not stab me, but any grenade or explosive object getting within twenty feet of me will instantly detonate because of the heat radiation these dragonfly abilities render me! Ha ha ha!"

Mr. Dragon Patch began advancing toward them again, coughing up more flaming beach balls at an even faster rate. Just to make sure, Kazooie fired one last grenade egg, but as their adversary had so described, it detonated well before reaching its intended target. The heat from both the beach balls and Mr. Dragon Patch himself was beginning to make Banjo & Kazooie sweat.

"What do we do now?" Banjo cried.

In answer, they heard a call from down below. "Over here!" came the voices of the remaining five Kongs (Dixie, Kiddy, Candy, and Cranky, without projectile weapons, were fighting elsewhere). DK, Tiny, Lanky, Chunky, and Funky were waving as they brandished their nutritious weapons. "Bring it closer!"

With no other strategy in mind, Banjo & Kazooie fled obligingly toward the monkeys—that is, they were fleeing both from the flaming beach balls and the mutated dragon freak (in Kazooie's own words) following close behind them with an unhindered fury and a ravenous thirst for vengeance.

But as soon as they reached the area directly above the Kongs, four burning beach balls closed in from each side and collided into their target at once. Banjo & Kazooie yelled as they plummeted toward the ground. The bird was unable to so much as slow the fall because both of them had caught on fire. Fortunately, a cluster of multi-colored Yoshis watching the battle had gathered together to break their fall, so they landed without additional injury. The Yoshis immediately backed away from the flames flickering on the tips of Kazooie's feathers and singeing Banjo's fur. To their rescue came Ellie the Elephant, who dumped a plethora of water over them from her trunk (the water itself coming from who-knew-where), quenching the fire and drenching the two exhausted adventurers.

Meanwhile, at DK's command, the five Kongs simultaneously fired their weapons at Mr. Dragon Patch, who was by now a good deal closer. The assault was a success: With a combination of DK's coconuts, Tiny's red feathers, Lanky's incredibly painful grapes, Chunky's pineapples, and Funky's oranges, the dragonfly/strange wobbly inflatable object (as he had once been introduced back in Witchyworld) was faced with a final barrage of fruit and feathers. Coconuts and pineapples burst through patches in spite of the flaring red coating of energy; feathers stuck themselves into the rubber and created additional punctures; and grapes acted like flavored cannonballs as they hit other vulnerable spots. Unfortunately, the oranges, as explosive objects, did not get the same opportunity, and instead burst into orange juice and splattered to the surface.

Now there was only the one patch left: on the left bridge of Mr. Dragon Patch's snout-like nose. Funky, frustrated by the failure of his oranges, drew out his famous Boot Bazooka and pressed the trigger. The brown shoe sped straight at the wailing head.

"NOOOOOOOO! This show was supposed to be mine!" were the mutant's last words before the boot smacked Dragon Patch's head, not merely breaking through the patch, but decapitating the dragon-like head altogether. The remaining body, half-Patch, half-Dragonfly, ceased its fiery red effect, and the rest of the air poured out through the opening where the neck used to connect. The rubber remains zoomed through the sky, propelled by the escaping air, and finally collapsed right in front of the Kongs; the Yoshis had had to run away to avoid being covered by it.

The Kongs hollered and screeched in triumph, beating their chests and clapping their hands and feet while hand-standing. Banjo sat up, parts of his previously brown fur now singed black, his entire coat matted down with water. He looked over to see Kazooie's limp wet body beside him, and lifted her onto his lap.

"Kazooie, are you alright?" Banjo's brow was furrowed with worry.

In response, the soaked bird coughed out water, and spat grumpily, "This will take _forever_ to dry!"

* * *

Reeka blasted higher and higher with his jetpack, the flames blazing from the device leaving a trail of black smoke. He reached the highest story and then, cackling, veered into a narrow octagonal opening which glowed with a modern blue radiance. A few seconds later, Gadd gave chase by following his rival into the opening on the Poltergust 5000. He had to persevere now, or else risk allowing his dangerous cousin to escape. But he had no idea where Reeka was leading him, and with the speed of this pursuit, he would have to be extremely careful.

The narrow tunnel gave the Poltergust a couple yards of leeway in each direction, but one wrong turn or jerk and it would all be over. The professor navigated quickly but cautiously through the passageway lit by more rings of fluorescent blue light. Multicolored patches of red, green, and yellow flashed in and out, beeping faintly against the continuous warning siren. Along the top and sides were mechanical pulleys and magnetic conveyer belts moving in the same direction as him, bearing metal boxes and other obscurer shapes. As the tunnel curved up, down, left, and right, Reeka was usually not even in sight, although along straighter sections Gadd caught a brief glimpse of him before he turned another corner.

Finally, the passage sloped down steeply and then became a straight plummet. Gadd ducked when a U-turning pulley above him bore a suspended mass of tangled metal pipes and wires around the bend at the same time the professor was curving down into the drop. The gray tuft of hair on his head brushed against the metal mass as he swerved away and then stabilized himself as he continued down.

As he looked down, he saw the two jets of fire indicating Reeka's jetpack flaring further down the tunnel. Anxious to stop his nemesis's rampage as soon as possible, he pressed a trigger on the right handle of his prototype, firing two beams of green lasers in the direction of his enemy. Unfortunately, at that moment, Reeka leveled out, swerving in a direction perpendicular to his current orientation, disappearing around the corner and proceeding forward. The green lasers burned uselessly into the curving floor below, leaving black scorch marks.

The Poltergust rumbled as at last it reached the bottom, which curved in a steep 90-degree slope, but also opened out into a much larger room, leaving the blue tunnel behind. Gadd steered his vehicle to follow the final bend and entered the expansive chamber beyond.

Machines of all shapes, sizes, and functions made a huge amount of noise, even above that of the alarm. This was evidently the primary industrial facility of the base, for all sorts of conveyor belts with assembly machines putting together all kinds of contraptions sloped up, down, and across the room. The ceiling was at least as tall as the previous room. Along the vast walls were the dark circular windows that could be seen from the exterior. Finished products were grouped together in corners: the hovering robots used to feed the Wire Frame Pods, a variety of guns, and many other complex machines which Gadd had never seen the likes of before. All the black smoke went into a vent in the ceiling where it was discharged out of the cylindrical chimneys on the roof of the black building. However, the fumes from all the gaseous smoke coming out of the huge assembly machines still made the air taste and smell horrid; in fact, Gadd could tell he would likely faint from the toxicity if he were to remain in the factory for much more than an hour.

The professor saw his nemesis rocket across an active assembly line and curve upwards once more. Gadd followed carefully, barely able to see Reeka through the smoky air. He fired three more green laser beams as they ascended; two missed and ricocheted around the room until causing a machine to explode, but the third finally hit its mark. The right exhaust on the jetpack ceased to function and simply smoked while the other side continued to run. The two cousins leveled out, but they were now at least a hundred feet above the ground. Only the largest of the production machines rose all the way up to where they were.

"Argh!" Professor U. Reeka seethed as his flight pattern was knocked out of control. He began to lurch this way and that, jerking spontaneously like a jinxed broomstick. Gadd had to try hard to follow and avoid colliding with him. As his jetpack sped up spasmodically, the evil scientist turned back to his cousin and fired several more jets of blue lightning from his watch.

Gadd cried out in shock as the jets electrocuted him and struck the Poltergust, causing it to explode. The force sent him flying sideways into the metal wall of one of the tallest machines, and his desperate fingers barely clung on to the top edge while currents of blue electricity still seared and stung through his body. Fortunately, the rays of lightning were not lethal because they had not had enough time to fully charge since their last use. But the professor's fingers were beginning to slip from fatigue, and the moisture of the air lessening the adhesiveness of his hands on the metal edge. Below, not only was there a one hundred foot drop, but an enormous cauldron filled with a sickly, bubbling green liquid conveniently occupied the area directly beneath him.

Gadd gathered all the strength he could muster and pulled himself up as hard as he could while Reeka continued to flail uncontrollably in the air. Gadd strenuously lifted himself onto the metal surface above, his old body screaming for respite. The only problem was that the surface was moving, for he was now on a narrow assembly line with a conveyor belt comprising the entire ledge. He looked up and rolled out of the way just in time before a giant steaming square stamped onto the spot where he had just been. The pull of the belt as he shakily stood up drew him back toward the now-rising stamping machine, so instead of running away from it, he dashed forward and ducked below before it could stamp again. He looked beyond at the rest of the assembly line in front of him. There were mechanical arms handling glowing, almost molten metal and pounding each piece into certain shapes. And at the end of the belt, the pieces dropped into what looked suspiciously like a furnace….

The professor looked down the side of the sheer metal wall to see Reeka still struggling for control over his malfunctioning jetpack, flying in jittering circles almost directly below. Gadd looked back at the mechanical arms and the furnace, and determined there was only one means of escape with even the slightest chance of survival—even if that chance was miniscule. After a brief hesitation, Gadd leapt off the conveyer belt, aiming for his enemy. He was successful, and even though both were sent tumbling down the gap between machines, Professor U. Reeka had broken the fall, giving Gadd something to help soften the force of the impending impact. Still, there was yet another issue: They were heading straight toward the cauldron of boiling green liquid, and the edges were several yards away on each side. But with the last bit of the jetpack's energy, Reeka caused them to accelerate just far enough to avoid dropping into the liquid, and instead they conveniently fell into a chute leading into a sloped tunnel, which sloped forward and downward. They slid smoothly into the circular tunnel, reducing the consequences of their fall to almost nothing.

After sliding down the smooth metal chute for a matter of seconds, Reeka in front, they popped out in what appeared to be an underground R & D lab. And judging by the content of this sector, it was where U. Reeka practiced his most secret, dangerous, demented experiments.

What Gadd first noticed were the tall glass containers filled with bubbling yellow liquid. And also within these capsules were submerged figures; some were curled up or bathed in shadow and impossible to identify, while others he could actually recognize. For instance, the professor could not mistake the floating Goomba, Waddle Dee, Wolfos, Starman (like ones who had invaded Onett—not the bouncing golden star with eyes), Banana Fairy, Metroid, Aparoid, and Magnemite (a spherical steel Pokémon with one large glazed eye and a horseshoe magnet attached on each side) inside each of the domed tubes. Gadd even spotted Ike, Samurai Goroh, and Paint Roller among the specimens.

Each figure floated up and down languidly inside one of the capsules, which were arranged in rows and columns throughout the small cavern. This underground lair had rock walls, floor, and ceiling, with smooth, damp surfaces. At the far end was a large, flat metal table on which there were various straps used to secure things (most likely limbs), and connected to it by several thick wires was a large rectangular machine positioned against the rock wall with dials, buttons, levers, switches, keypads, and a small screen in the middle.

Beside this machine where the rest of the rock wall would have been was instead a glass wall behind which was a small enclosed area completely barren of any objects or furniture. It was similar to the room from Donkey Kong 64 in which King K. Rool used to listen to his minions babble about why they had failed to defeat the Kongs—prior to punishing them in rather unpleasant ways.

On the left wall was a single heavily bolted door behind which strange sounds could be heard; Gadd did not like to think about what was beyond it. Finally, near the right wall was something very familiar, but the familiarity did not lift the professor's spirits much, for it was yet another of the fancy kraken-like mechanisms used to transform things into trophies; and of course, near the machine itself was a stack of trophy stands and a chair with chains attached. Leaning against the wall was a strange black-and-purple gun that for some reason worried Gadd even more than the enormous trophy machine.

The lab was quiet except for a low humming sound coming from the machines and the unsettling noises echoing from behind the steel door. The whole room was dubiously lit by fluorescent lights on the ceiling, which allowed for more shadows and dark corners than Gadd would have preferred, and the air was kept in circulation by vents in the ceiling, but neither of these conveniences took away from the intense fear Gadd felt as he entered the lair of his evil cousin's darkest designs.

Reeka walked forward with his hands together behind his back as if their physically strenuous chase had never taken place. He gazed at each of the sleeping figures suspended in liquid. Then, when he reach the end of the rows of glass domes where the metal table stood near the glass wall, he turned around and smiled wickedly at Gadd, showing off his disturbing pointy teeth.

"This is where it all ends, Elvin," he said. "After all the effort you've gone through just to vanquish me, this is where you will finally come to realize it has all been in vain. For look around you!" Reeka gestured out toward the basement's contents. "Even a mind such as yours doesn't understand the full wonder of what I've achieved—and will yet achieve. I have been able to mass-produce Master Hand's armies; I have created a machine to convert a living being into an immobilized state; and I have discovered the secret to combine and transmogrify two creatures into one new, superior slave. In the near future, perhaps, we shall do away with these cumbersome trophy machines and come up with a smaller, handheld model instead…yes, I see you've noticed my first prototype. But for now, this is the epitome of technology; none of your fireworks or vacuums will ever amount to what I will accomplish!"

Then his insane grin switched to a malicious grimace. "But you don't deserve any recognition. You should be obliterated into nothingness and cease to exist even as a faint memory. So I have now devised the perfect method in which to dispose of you forever in the most humiliating way possible. You probably didn't expect me to have… _this_ …."

With gusto, Professor U. Reeka dramatically drew out a Poltergust, handheld like Luigi's. "Yes, I have come into possession of one of your own useless trinkets; I won't even bother telling you how. Only this trinket, it so happens, I've modified to actually make it useful, so instead of simply sucking up pathetic ghosts or dust bunnies, this one does the reverse: It vacuums living beings—such as yourself. So prepare, Elvin, to be devoured by your own creation; mutated into a hideous, unrecognizable monster; and then sent back into the Battlefields where you will be slain by your own followers…." The mad scientist laughed so loudly that he would almost match one of Bowser's roars, and he prepared to switch on the Poltergust, watching his cousin's expression with lunatical amusement.

But to Reeka's surprise, Gadd gave a toothy smile. "You never did have the respect to use a professor's full title, _Ulysses_." Professor Ulysses Reeka twitched in annoyance at the use of his embarrassing first name. "And luckily for me," Elvin continued, "I happen to have another trick up my sleeve as well…no pun intended." And indeed, the professor reached into the inner pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a large paintbrush, which he held up like a wand. At the base of the bristles was a circle with a insignia resembling Gadd's head upon it. The bristles themselves were colored with bright hues and dripping with a magical goopy substance.

"I have also come into possession of something of yours, Ulysses. This Magic Brush…which you _gave_ to Bowser's son a couple years ago so he could terrorize the inhabitants of Delfino Island and attempt to execute revenge on Mario. You even spread the rumor that I made the brush myself, and that Bowser Jr. had stolen it from me, in order to hurt my reputation. Well, now, my bad cousin, it will be _you_ meeting _your_ end by your own dastardly devices. That is, unless you accept my final offer of unconditional surrender and swear to cease your experimenting which has caused—and is currently causing—so much death and pain. Despite your treachery, I do not wish to kill you, Ulysses…I will only do what I must to ensure the safety of Nintendo World…."

"You _will_ try," Reeka jeered as he switched on the modified Poltergust. But instead of a moderate-sized area of suckage, the vacuum reached across the entire room, pulling all the way from the opposite end, which included Gadd. However, since everything else on Gadd's side of the lair was bolted firmly to the ground, nothing else seemed to be affected by the pull except a small, worn picture frame whose image the professor did not have time to see before being subjected to the force of the pull himself. So strong was the pull that he was nearly lifted off his feet as he was forced toward the nozzle of the vacuum. As he slid across the floor against his will, Gadd grasped the side of one of the glass containers and pushed himself behind it to where he would hopefully be safe from the blast. But the cylindrical glass precluded him from remaining still, for the air rushing past him caused him to begin slipping either one way or the other.

Finally, determining that he would have to go on the offensive, Gadd took Reeka's Magic Paintbrush and smacked it into the glass dome, shattering it and causing the shards to fly toward Reeka. Along the way, the shards cracked and split open other glass capsules as well and created a chain reaction, breaking open just about every liquid-filled container. And of course, this resulted in the yellow liquid flushing out onto the floor, drenching Gadd's boots and the trail of his coat. The figures themselves collapsed onto the bottom of the capsules, where the remaining glass shielded them from being sucked up. The positive effect of this strategy was that the shards, while for the most part absorbing into the vacuum, now and then strayed off and struck the scientist behind it, making it necessary for Reeka to duck for cover behind the metal table.

This also gave Gadd time to paint a colorful circular portal in front of him, jump through it, and then appear behind the confused maniac. Reeka, unable to see Gadd's position because he was so close to the ground, continued to hold the Poltergust in position, awaiting his cousin's imminent defeat. He cackled as the old picture of a young Professor E. Gadd vanished into the vacuum. But just when he was beginning to wonder where Elvin could be and how he could have remained hidden for so long, he heard a monstrous, earsplitting roar behind him. Slowly, Reeka turned his head to face the source of the sound.

A pool of thick, goopy red liquid served as the home of the vicious Polluted Piranha swaying above, made entirely of shimmering paint. It bellowed again, Gadd standing grimly next to the puddle with the paintbrush still in hand.

"You have no place in This World, cousin," was the last thing Ulysses Reeka heard before he was engulfed by a goopy mouth and was no more.

The pile of goop, at Gadd's will, sank into the ground along with the liquid Piranha Plant and Professor U. Reeka. The professor wiped his forehead with exhaustion and glanced at the nearby screen on the rectangular machine. He noticed several pictures of paired creatures and double-sided arrows between them. _The Shadow Queen and Floormaster…Petey Piranha and Gohma…Mr. Patch and Dragonfly..._ There were more, but before he could make out the shapes behind his thick lenses, a female intercom voice blared from above.

"Self-destruct sequence initiated. Commencement will begin in one minute—59…58…"

Gadd smiled faintly. _Well, done, R.O.B.'s_ , he thought. _They've fulfilled what I programmed them to do…but this is no place for a sane scientist…._ He looked at the previously unconscious figures from the glass capsules. They were beginning to stir and rise in confusion. _Nor for any of these poor beings, either…_

Without delay, E. Gadd set to work painting an enormous portal across the glass wall until it was one colorful, shimmering rectangle. "Fellas!" the professor shouted to the freed specimens. "This place will soon explode. You must all help each other to escape through this portal; and then, if you have the strength, join with the Smash Brothers to defeat Master Hand's remaining forces. Can you do this? For I must leave."

Ike and Samurai Goroh, the strongest of the bizarre group, looked at each other and nodded. They began to assist others who were in worse condition than themselves (the Metroid and Aparoid, thankfully, were dead).

"Good. Farewell, then. You must have been through a terrible ordeal, but have patience and all will be made right." With that, Professor E. Gadd jumped through the paint and came out a good distance away from the black lab, from which R.O.B.'s were still fleeing. Now he had no living relatives left.

He watched as over the next thirty seconds, Reeka's prisoners filed out after him and began hobbling away.

"3…2…1…" the mechanized voice echoed from the distance before the entire base went up in a huge explosion. However, it seemed that Gadd had underestimated the blast radius; the fiery self-destruction continued to consume ground beyond what he could have ever expected—but then again, this was still Reeka's work. He _should_ have expected his evil cousin to plan, in the event of his failure, the death of his conqueror at all costs. Now he and the R.O.B.'s would go down with the work of Professor Ulysses Reeka. He closed his eyes as death approached…until an echoing, magical voice chanted nearby….

" _Eeko Boko Eeko Boko Mo-me-ni-mu, Mo-me-ni-mu, Eeko Boko Eeko Boko Eeko Boko Eek-yo Ob…."_ Mumbo Jumbo's voice repeated this phrase over and over again as he, with Humba Wumba beside him, faced the exploding base beside Gadd with his hands (as well as Humba's) raised up in concentration. The two shamans had created a translucent wall of blue energy) which, when it came, held back the raging force and protected those beyond its boundaries. The wall encircled the blast, containing it within the spell's magical limits. Only a few R.O.B.'s were consumed before they crossed the barrier to safety. The explosion pounded against the sparkling walls for some time before finally subsiding.

" _Bu-gi-deh,"_ Mumbo finished with satisfaction as the blast died away and the shamans allowed the barrier to dematerialize. He and Humba came toward Gadd and the other escapees, smiling triumphantly.

The professor could only smile back; there was no need for words of gratitude now. No way at the moment to fully express his gratitude for the shamans' indispensable, lifesaving assistance. Now Gadd's thoughts, although disturbed by the unavoidable loss of his cousin, turned to the most important thing. He gazed at the ashen lab remains and then to the north where the rest of the Smash Brothers continued to fight almost tirelessly. By this point the entire spawning fields had been overtaken, but the thousands of Wire Frames who they had charged past on the way over were coming back for them. _Our part is complete,_ he thought grimly. _We can only hope Mario and the others have had equal success…._


	26. Chapter 20: The Worthy

Chapter 20: The Worthy

* * *

 **T** he battle for the Nintendo World had begun. To the north and south, the defenders and assaulters were about to begin their endeavors. But in the middle, arranged in an arrow-point formation, the rest of the Smash Brothers awaited the command from their leaders to commence the push westward toward Master Hand's Room, and then to Master Hand's Fortress where the fate of everything they knew would be decided. The same blend of fear and determination present in the hearts of the other Smash Brothers burned strongest in these bravest of warriors.

Forming the thick border of the triangle formation were the hundreds of cavalry from both Akaneia and Hyrule, ready to charge. Inside this border were the foot soldiers from the same kingdoms. From top to bottom, the army stretched the length of a few football fields, numbering several hundred. The Great Fox, piloted by Peppy with the auxiliary guns manned by Paula, Jeff, and Poo, flew directly above the center of the formation, and behind the craft flew Fox, Falco, and Slippy in their Arwings.

The rest of the division was positioned at the front. Kirby, riding Dragoon (a special kind of Air Rider comparable to a Warp Star but shaped somewhat like a white bird with rainbow-colored feathers), and Meta Knight, his yellow eyes shining with the invigorating rush of combat, flew at the head of the Star Warriors, prepared to ensure the mission's success at all costs. Below at the tip of the arrow, Link and Marth were mounted on horses side by side and getting ready to lead their men into battle. Link rode upon the steed of his childhood, Epona, who was a deep auburn while the rest of the war horses were black, white, or chocolate brown. Directly behind them, forming the second and third rows of the triangle, were Mario and Luigi (piggybacking the Babies), Roy, the Ice Climbers, Pac-man, Bomberman, Ness, and Shadow the Hedgehog.

The great number of heroes assigned to this task indicated how important it was to the Smash Brothers' success. If they failed, all that might be accomplished by the defenders and assaulters would be for nothing. There was a great amount of pressure upon them, but their unity gave each individual great strength.

Link stopped stroking his loyal Epona's mane and turned to Marth. "Are you with me?"

"To the death," Marth replied with a brotherly smile.

Link smiled back, then turned back to face the armies of Master Hand. He drew the Biggoron Sword and pointed it forward with one hand. Marth drew his Falchion blade as well. "For the freedom of our world!" Link shouted. "For our homes and loved ones, and for Impa! FORWARD!"

Epona and Marth's horse reared up with a ferocious whinny and charged toward the oppressing army. Everyone else behind them followed their lead, crying out valorously and drawing their swords. Even though many were forced to run along the ground, the swiftness of the cavalry encouraged them and gave them energy to pick up their pace so as to keep the formation intact. Above, the Star Warriors charged ahead of the rest and met the enemy long before they did. The Great Fox and the Arwings remained above the triangle, however, for the responsibility was theirs to defend the formation from aerial attacks or ones from behind.

"Star Fox Squadron report in. Fox here," Fox spoke into his radio.

"Slippy here!"

"Falco locked and loaded."

"Peppy here…and for real, I need to retire after this…."

"Roger. Team Star Fox, fulfill the objective; remember, we must remain with the formation and defend it at all costs. Good luck, everyone. Fox out!"

While they charged down the hill closer and closer toward the Wire Frames, they could see similar movements both to the north and south, which helped lift their spirits even higher. The Star Warriors had already fallen upon the adversary, swooping down with their wings and Warp Stars and slashing the Wire Frames, which proved to be as feeble as ever. To add to all this, Mario and Luigi used another Copy Flower, so their enemy wouldn't be merely dealing with two Marios and two Luigis, but a hundred.

At last, the arrow formation began to cut into the Wire Frame forces. Link and Marth were the first of the horses to begin the great trampling that ensued. The Wire Frames were too slow; a few of them managed to jump over the cavalry only to be combo attacked by the Marios and Luigis, sent to oblivion by Roy's Binding Blade, smashed by Popo's and Nana's hammers, devoured like a blue ghost by Pac-man, blown up by one of Bomberman's smooth blue bombs, fried by Ness's PK Fire, kicked away by Shadow's flaming white shoes, or stabbed by the infantry's weapons.

But for the most part, the arrow formation sliced through Master Hand's armies even more efficiently than the assaulters and defenders, leaving most of the Wire Frames' bodies flattened by the horses. Nothing seemed to be able to stand in their way, and morale was high. No casualties, after five minutes of fighting, had yet been suffered.

The thriving warriors, heroes, and pilots continued on in this way for what felt like forever but was in reality about an hour, cutting so far into the Wire Frames' ranks that soon they could barely see the rest of the Smash Brothers battling in the distance behind them. But then things turned up a notch.

They reached the end of the typical Wire Frames, but their progress immediately slowed when their opponents suddenly changed from just male and female to 25 completely unique variations. Almost at once, many more of the Wire Frames evaded the trampling horses or retaliated first. The Star Warriors faced numberless projectiles firing up at them: fireballs, lightning bolts, arrows, lasers, Shadow Balls, etc. Marth, Link, and the rest of the heroes pushed their way forward, but couldn't easily move on without waiting for the painfully gradual advancement of the rest of the formation behind them. Team Star Fox was now engaged in vicious combat with the Aparoid army while struggling to remain above the group.

What was more, Master Hand seemed to have reserved one force in particular for them. Silver UFOs descended upon Star Fox and the Star Warriors, segments of yellow laser firing from several directions. Starmen, including the spike-studded Starman Supers and bronze Starmen Deluxe, teleported atop the UFOs, into the midst of the Wire Frames and even in midair, showering the airborne soldiers with deadly beams.

"New objective from supreme leader," buzzed the robotic voice of the largest Starmen Deluxe, which was standing atop one of the bigger UFOs. "Destroy all living organisms. Master Hand's package to note that preparation was advised, and it is now time to finish what we started in Onett."

"Yikes!" Slippy cried as a laser struck his right wing, catching it on fire. He spun several times to put it out, but the lasers kept on coming. A couple of the Star Warriors yelled as they were blasted out of the sky by the Starmen and tumbled to the ground. The Great Fox, as the largest flying target, rattled from a steady barrage of attacks.

"They're too fast!" Jeff shouted as he, Paula, and Poo tried to hit the Starmen with their laser turrets. Even the UFOs deflected their beams like a mirror reflecting light.

"It's no use," Paula said. "Jeff, you stay down here and focus on the Aparoids and Wire Frames. Poo and I are gonna have a little chat with our alien friends."

She and the Dalaamian hurried up the Great Fox to the hatch that led them onto the top of the ship. They faced the indescribable spectacle of the alien invasion, with hovering Starmen spread out around them like floating mines. With lasers.

"Alright, friends," Paula said, concentrating hard to call upon her PSI powers. "You haven't come in peace, but you'll be leaving in _pieces._ "

The two of them unleashed a combination of PK Starstorms and PK Flashes, catching most of the Starmen off guard, crushing and vaporizing many while the rest were forced to fall back.

Inside the Great Fox, Peppy had also noticed the ineffectiveness of the ship's lasers. He put his hand on another trigger.

"Let's see how you like this, ya hooligans!"

A cluster of missiles fired from both sides of the vessel, speeding into the two closest UFOs. The spaceships did not take them well, the explosions blowing them apart like party poppers.

"Woo hoo!" Peppy did a little dance as he steered the Great Fox onward.

Then, from the north, a formation of Arwings dive-bombed toward several other UFOs, donating a wall of lasers followed by several B-Bombs. The Starmen were obliterated before the Cornerian Fleet's surprise strike force; the UFO with the head Starman Deluxe exploded like a firework, though the Starman in question teleported just in time to retreat to another spaceship farther back.

Dash Bowman appeared as a hologram on Peppy's control panel. "Let's crush these clankers!"

"You betcha," Peppy said.

Down below, however, dozens were now falling on both sides, and the formation continued moving forward at only a fraction of their previous speed. The morning blazed into early afternoon, and although they had gone miles, there was still no visible sign of Master Hand's Room ahead. The rest of the Smash Brothers had completely vanished behind them, and in front of them the gradual slopes of the Battlefields seemed to stretch on forever with no limits or bounds.

* * *

Kirby fought fiercely, sucking in enemies here and spitting them out there, slicing into several at once with the beak-like front of Dragoon. But then he noticed a blue-green figure bulldozing through the Wire Frames in front of them at a speed of at least 100 mph. The figure continued to speed in his direction, knocking away its own allies, and at a gradual angle it lifted off the ground and made with toward Kirby and Dragoon. The puffball sensed this hostility, and tilted Dragoon up just in time to avoid colliding with the new enemy. It sped by in a blur, but this glance was enough for Kirby to identify the Air Rider who had almost killed him. It was Hydra, the other legendary Air Ride Machine which was known for its brutal, deadly speed and its three thorny green points protruding from the glowing yellow base. However, Hydra had passed by underneath him too quickly for Kirby to get a clear look at the rider, so he turned Dragoon around to face Hydra, which had also stopped in midair to prepare for another charge.

It wasn't too surprising to discover that controlling Hydra was none other than Metal Kirby, its round metal figure featureless and emotionless. Kirby knew trying to reason with the clone wouldn't be worth his time, so after seeing Hydra charging up for another strike, the famous Star Warrior dived down below and began thinking up a strategy to defeat his metal adversary.

He decided to curve straight back upwards underneath Metal Kirby where the clone couldn't very well see him, but a split second before he would have sliced into Hydra, the machine barrel-rolled to the side and pursued the Dragoon in an upward spiral. Kirby glanced behind as he ascended, the sky a blur all around, and saw Metal Kirby advancing close below him, so he executed a full loop-de-loop and was now behind Hydra.

Metal Kirby came to an abrupt halt and pivoted around, and Kirby did not have time to react before crashing into the thorny points. Kirby was sent careening off Dragoon, which flipped around in the air and then exploded. The pink puffball puffed up five times in an attempt to stay aloft, but after the fifth, he gasped for air and began plummeting downward, spinning uncontrollably, towards the ground far below. The air whizzed past him, and now Hydra was coming back at a steep angle with the intent of spearing Kirby on its sharp points….

Then, even faster than Hydra, a red blur sped down from above, cushioned Kirby's fall, and whisked him away before Hydra could get to him. Kirby, dazed, saw that he was now riding on one of the Wolfens of Team Star Wolf—the Black Rose, to be exact. A feline voice sounded from inside the cockpit.

"Panther always renders aid to allies in need. Ah, but what's this?" The black-furred cat looked to his right to see Kirby clinging onto the wing. He then saw that behind him, Metal Kirby had redirected Hydra and was coming in for yet another charge. "Looks as if this small friend lacks a means of combating his enemy. Panther would deliver the finishing blow himself, but his noble instinct deems that this is your foe to defeat. Here, friend, take this…" Panther cracked open the cockpit and handed Kirby a red rose. Kirby took it in his stubby arms, but looked confused. Why had this strange pilot given him a rose, of all things?

"Panther knows this may seem to be a useless gift at the moment, but somehow he believes that you can use it to your advantage. Farewell, little pink hero, and remember the act of kindness performed for you this day by Panther Caruso. And you needn't worry about returning the rose; Panther possesses plenty more…."

Hydra came up behind the Black Rose, intent on obliterating it, when Panther executed a 180-degree loop, avoiding Hydra and now flying the other way. Unfortunately, this required the Wolfen to turn upside down, and as Hydra was passing below, Kirby fell off of the Black Rose and barely grabbed onto the back of Hydra while still holding the red rose. He had to be careful not to prick his stubby hand on it because it was so thorny….

At the moment, Metal Kirby did not appear to notice the unwanted hitchhiker, so Kirby flailed in the air behind the Air Machine as it jerked and swerved in search of him. With no other ideas in mind, Kirby drew in a deep breath of air, tossed the rose in his mouth, and swallowed it painfully as the thorns scratched his throat.

 _Poof!_ Rose Kirby was born. Similar to Spike Kirby, this new Copy Ability caused the previously pink hero to be covered in small spikes, or in this case, thorns. He was also now as green as the dark stem of a rose, and positioned comically on top of his head was a bright red flower. Also, instead of stubby arms, thorny tendrils extended a few feet beyond on each side and ended with two more roses; Kirby's arms now functioned like some combination of a ball-and-chain and Ivysaur's Vine Whip.

Realizing that his new appearance blended in well with the thorny points of Hydra, Kirby swung his tendril-arms quietly around the base of the left horn and attached himself to it with the two roses interlocking and twisting together on the other side (although he needn't worry about noise with the ruckus of the war below and the screeching of the wind). He could see the back of Metal Kirby as Hydra sped through the air, still in search of the one it had been sent to find and take down. The headwind pushed against Rose Kirby, but with the prickliness of the thorns, he held on.

Finally gathering enough courage, Rose Kirby unstuck all of his thorns from the horn and began swinging back and forth on the loop formed by his tendril-arms (Lanky Kong would have been proud). He did this until he had enough momentum to propel him completely over the top of Hydra and land almost on top of Metal Kirby. And this, being impossible to go unnoticed by the clone, caused Metal Kirby to finally turn around to see Rose Kirby with his tendril-arms waving about. But before it could do anything, Rose Kirby swiftly wrapped his tendrils around the metal figure and lifted it clean into the air with his temporary plant-like strength. Then, even as Hydra continued to speed forward undirected at well over any approved speed limit except in space, Rose Kirby began to spin round and round, swinging Metal Kirby in a wide circle. He did this faster and faster until they were a spinning blur within a blur, like Mario spinning Bowser around on an F-Zero machine, and then finally let go, releasing his metal duplicate into the sky. As it fell, Metal Kirby was caught by a blast from Sylux's ship, the Delano 7, and was no more.

"My Rider!" Kirby called out as he gained control of the Hydra. And that was all he needed to say. However, he had to dispose of his Rose abilities in order to effectively maneuver the vehicle. When he looked down, he was shocked to behold nothing but Wire Frames as far as the eye could see, packed densely together like purple ants. Kirby knew he was supposed to be helping those heading for Master Hand's fortress, but at this point there was no point in trying to find his way back in time. So he resolved that he may as well begin carving his way here. Hydra was nigh unstoppable, after all.

From below, the green figure of Hydra suddenly dropped straight back onto the ground, and began charging though dozens upon dozens of Wire Frames, which were helpless even in their many variations. Many Kirby Frames attempted to confront him while riding upon other Air Ride machines, but they were no contest against the legendary beast of machinery (although Kirby did wonder where they acquired Air Riders in the first place).

Kirby eventually claimed the title for the defeat of the most Wire Frames attributed solely to his name during the war—and it's not hard to figure out how.

* * *

Back at the head of the arrow formation, the horses continued to charge through the magenta ocean of Wire Frames. It was a challenge with all the different attacks and styles facing them at once, and a number of the warriors fell, but for the most part the Smash Brothers were able to avoid most of their attacks as long as they kept up a continuous speed. But they had been doing this for so long that many of the soldiers had begun to lose hope.

Finally, a sign that their push was nearing its end made itself manifest. Although there was, indeed, no giant wall or door as Professor E. Gadd had imagined, there was a single arch which appeared to be of significance because beyond this arch there were no more Wire Frames. At the front, Link and Marth were the first to notice this strange landmark, and they called out to the rest of their forces in encouragement.

"We are almost there!" Marth shouted. "To the arch at the bottom of this slope!" The slope they were now running down was very gradual, with the distant arch at the far end. But beyond that, the rest of the landscape beyond appeared perfectly flat. It seemed, as has been mentioned before, to stretch on forever: no shore or sea; only the early afternoon sky on the level horizon.

Before them, a couple hundred feet away, Meta Knight dropped back and warned them in a loud voice. "Beware! The mounted fighters guarding the arch are fierce; they repel our Star Warriors with arrows of fire. We cannot compete against them." The masked warrior then called on the Star Warriors to fall back to allow the cavalry to step in where they could not prevail.

"Mounted fighters?" Link asked, startled. "What kind of Wire Frames can be ridden?"

"See for yourself," was all Meta Knight said before he and his warriors split to help reinforce the flanks.

Link, Marth, and the other heroes anticipated these last obstacles in the way of what was undoubtedly the entrance to Master Hand's Room. But on closer look, the Smash Brothers realized that they all appeared to be the _same_. These were Link Frames, which explained the arrows, but the surprising part was that they were actually riding horses of the same nature, or Horse Frames. Here was one variation of Wire Frame that was not part of the Original 25. Yet this fact did not make the reality any easier to face. It would be cavalry versus cavalry, for the foot soldiers stood no chance against mounted opponents so high off the ground. Even the other heroes besides Link and Marth merged with the foot soldiers and relied on the strength of the horsemen to win this unexpected struggle. The biggest issue, however, was that there were hundreds upon hundreds of them blocking their way to the arch in a thick wall of Horse and Link Frames, far outnumbering their own forces.

"Let's go." Link committed himself as the first to guide his horse, Epona, into the final barrier. His green hat fluttered about in the wind behind him, his blue eyes sparked with fearlessness, and the golden Triforce of Courage shone on the back of his left hand.

"Link—wait!" Marth charged along soon afterwards, gesturing behind him for the rest of the cavalry to follow.

Link lifted the Biggoron Sword high over his head and gave a battle cry as he brought it down onto the head of the foremost Link Frame. It sliced clean through the tough, jelly-like material and split it cleanly in half, each side falling off of the Horse Frame, which Link kicked over with his boot as he passed by. He suddenly felt uncomfortable, however, as each and every one of the Link frames simultaneously turned its featureless face, stamped with red Smash symbol, toward the Hero of Time in an almost zombie-like manner. They did not pay the slightest attention to Marth and the rest of the horsemen even when they began to be cut down. All focus was centered on Link, as if he was their only purpose and concern.

Then the green-garbed young man did something he'd never done before. He carefully stood upon the bony but sturdy back of his steed, bending his knees, and performed the mightiest Hurricane Spin he'd ever done—while upon a moving horse. The Biggoron sword had such a long range and carried so much momentum that with each full circle, dozens of Link Frames were beheaded and fell to the ground. It was another example of a blur within a blur. In this fashion, the legendary hero proceeded unchallenged through the mounted Link Frames—until they responded.

All the Link Frames suddenly directed their horses toward Link and Epona, and many of them began shooting arrows in his direction. Link, amidst his spinning, did not pay heed to where Epona was carrying him, and she, being among the savviest of horses, galloped not toward the arch, but at a 90-degree angle to the right away from it. The result of all this was that the masses of enemy riders moved in the same direction away from both the arch and Marth's horsemen, soon clearing a path for the formation to enter unhindered. Link and Epona, however, were now isolated.

"What is the fool _doing?_ " Marth muttered, reigning in his horse to point it toward the pursuing Link frames.

"Wait, Marth!" Roy said from behind him. "Link is leading them away to give us a chance to reach the arch! We must take it while we still can, or his act of bravery will have been in vain!"

Marth hesitated. He did not want to leave anyone behind—especially a friend—to face all the enemies they had bypassed.

"Marth! Now!"

And with a deep breath, knowing Prince Roy was right, Marth reluctantly urged his horse onward to the arch with the rest of the formation, the Star Warriors and Team Star Fox still defending the borders from above as they went along.

* * *

Link and Epona continued their ceaseless rampage, cutting through every enemy in their way with the unmatched might of the Biggoron Sword. Nothing, including the swords wielded by the Link Frames which were made of the same material as themselves, could hold against the heavy blade of that mighty weapon.

That is, until something stopped them.

Arrows came down in a ceaseless volley, striking even the Link Frames' own units. Link had been able to block the arrows with the blade of his sword and the Hylian Shield on his back, and his head was protected while performing the Hurricane Spin because it was bent down. Epona was shielded both by Link and the surrounding Link and Horse Frames. But finally, one flaming arrow found its way through their defenses and pierced Epona in the stomach.

The horse whinnied and collapsed sideways onto the ground, the arrow still stuck and burning her skin. Link cried out as he was suddenly thrown off his horse onto the purple Battlefield surface, the Biggoron Sword flying out of his grasp and clattering several yards away out of his reach. He lay helplessly on his back, his right arm throbbing with pain; it must have been broken. Looking over to his right and seeing Epona thrashing in agony as the fire spread, Link struggled to drag himself toward her. But the Link Frames had all stopped their horses in a tight circle around the two of them, and one rider emerged from the rest and dismounted its horse. It was Metal Link.

Metal Link walked up to the burning horse, and without a second thought, stabbed its heavy metal sword into Epona's heart and left it there, sticking out and wobbling slightly.

"Epona…no…" Link crawled faster toward his fallen horse, but just before he could touch the sleek mane, he gasped as something sharp was thrust into his stomach, pinning him to the ground. He looked up to see Metal Link standing over him, still holding the Biggoron Sword which it had used to pierce the sword's own wielder. The clone twisted the sword both ways and left it there, making his insides scream. Link weakly reached into his tunic to release a Fairy to revive him, drawing out a small bottle with a pink light inside and attempting to unscrew the lid. But a ruthless metal boot crushed both his hand and the bottle, killing his last hope of survival. Epona had stopped moving, her flesh being consumed by fire.

Metal Link climbed back onto its Horse Frame without a glance back, and directed the Link Frames back to where the formation was crossing toward the arch. The horde of mounted Link Frames galloped away, a few of them trampling the two mangled bodies on the ground—one dead, the other dying. Little did Link know that his foe possessing the Triforce of Power was in the same situation; both hero and villain would soon be no more.

* * *

"Link!" Marth yelled as he saw the mounted figure fall from his horse. But there was nothing they could do except go on. As they neared the arch, its details became clearer and clearer, revealing it to be an enormous wooden door—just big enough for an Arwing with its wings folded in—with a rounded top and a golden knob. Behind it, strangely enough, there was nothing—just the other side of the door.

As Marth and the rest reached the door, soldiers looked confused as they walked around the isolated door, knocking on the wood of both sides without any unusual result. Marth tried the golden handle but it was, of course, locked.

Then he noticed there was an engraving upon the door: the Smash symbol, etched like a hieroglyphic with a single line of cryptic text underneath.

 _The Worthy will unite._

"What must we do?" he said. "How do we unlock this door?"

He, Roy, the Ice Climbers, G.W, Ness, Shadow, Mario, Luigi, and the Babies had now clustered in front of the door. Pac-man, Bomberman, and the soldiers behind them were fending off whatever straggling Wire Frames that had remained behind to defend the portal. But no one had an answer.

Shadow stepped forward and examined the engravings closely. "I think…I may know….Marth, place your hand on the symbol."

Not having any better ideas, the Akaneian prince obliged. But nothing seemed to happen. He sighed and began to lift it away, but Shadow cut him off.

"No, stay there. Now Roy, you do the same."

Just as mystified as the others, Roy put his hand inside the circle beside Marth's. Sure enough, the carved outline had begun to glow.

"It is working!" he said. Still, all it did was shine a little; nothing else changed.

"We need more," Shadow said. "The rest of you Smashers, join them."

Popo, Nana, Mr. Game & Watch, Ness, Mario, and Luigi drew near and reached out in turn until all of them, huddled in front of the door, were touching the mysterious symbol.

The glow brightened with each additional Smasher, until with the seventh and last (the Ice Climbers only seemed to count as one), it became a circle of white light, and it yielded a golden key.

"That's it," Shadow said. Even after his change of heart, he still had a hard time expressing any emotion except urgency. "Now hurry. The Wire Frames are coming back; we must go through."

Nana grasped the key with her mitten as the others backed away a couple steps. She jumped as high as she could, generating the well-known Ice Climber _boing_ sound, and shoved the key into the gold keyhole. Now hanging from the key, she used both mittens to turn it with a click, and jumped down, backing away for Marth. The prince twisted the doorknob and pulled with a heave. The door moved. Everyone else backed away as he opened the door the farthest it could go on its hinges and peered inside. It took only one glance to confirm that despite the lack of logic, this hole led into Master Hand's Room.

"Come on! Inside; hurry!" Marth commanded as he and the other Smashers filed in first, followed by Shadow, Pac-man, Bomberman, and hundreds of soldiers and cavalry. They had difficulty narrowing the formation so that they could all file inside two-by-two.

But while the procession was passing through the door, all the distracted Link Frames and their horses turned back around and began charging at them, realizing their quarry was escaping. By the time the back ends of the horses and soldiers had disappeared through the portal, there was barely enough time for the Star Warriors and Team Star Fox to squeeze through. The Great Fox, of course, could not enter the door, so the ship instead began raining its lasers down upon the Link Frames to give the rest more time to get through.

Roy, who had been holding the door open for the Smash Brothers, continued to do so until Fox, Falco, and Slippy flew inside. The swordsman charged up a full-powered swing of his Binding Blade and released it with a fiery explosion when the Link Frames drew near. The blow clear a radius several yards ahead of him, massacring the Link and Horse Frames, sending them flying back in flames, and giving Roy time to pull the door closed with another click. He caught the key from Nana and twisted it in the keyhole on the other side to secure the door shut. But even as he closed it, he could feel dozens of arrows pound into the wood, and he could only trust in the strength of the lock as he turned with the rest to view the end of their long journey beyond.

* * *

Rambi the Rhino charged through the Link Frames with Young Link on his back, knocking them aside with bulk and horn. Above, the Great Fox continued to rain destruction upon the Wire Frames, which were now scattered about like flock of beheaded chickens in a minefield; Metal Link, however, had vanished.

"Yahoo!" Inside the Great Fox, Peppy did another little dance as his piloting skill saw to the end of yet another cluster of Link Frames. "I haven't had this much fun since—OW, my back! Dagnabbit!" The old hare cringed as his sudden movement took its toll on his spine. He sat back down and refocused on the battle.

Meanwhile, the rhino carried Young Link across the field of fallen Horse Frames and Link Frames, most of them either decapitated or incinerated, and finally reached the only non-purple figures on the entire field. Rambi came to a skidding halt next to Link and Epona, allowing Young Link to dismount.

"Thanks. How did you know they were here?"

Rambi fixed the boy with a strange look—a look that seemed to go far beyond mere animal instinct—but then the rhinoceros narrowed his eyes, turned to the nearest Wire Frames, and charged away.

Then Young Link saw his older self. "Link! No!" The boy ran up to the dying figure. He knelt down and tried to pull out the Biggoron Sword from Link's chest, but this only caused the Hero of Time to scream in pain.

The Kokiri boy began to cry, not knowing what to do. He looked over at Epona, but all that was left was a smoldering horse skeleton; the metal sword that should have been sticking through the middle of the ribcage was gone. But, of course, Young Link didn't know that. He just shook his older self until Link's eyes opened halfway and spoke in a faint voice.

"Hey, kid…don't worry about me…even though you're me, we both have separate fates…because we're from separate times. Save Zelda…even Ganondorf…don't let the Smash Brothers fail…and never forget the power of the Triforce…." Link lifted his left arm and juxtaposed his hand with Young Link's; on the back of both hands glowed the golden triangle which they both possessed. But then one of the triangles faded away, and the hand that had hosted it fell to the ground.

Young Link's childlike thoughts were first of disbelief, then despair, then self-blame, then anger, then hatred, and finally of vengeance. He stood with flames in his eyes, unsheathed his Kokiri Sword, and ran out into the everlasting struggle of war.

* * *

The Star Fox Team and Star Warriors didn't dare venture any farther into Master Hand's Room, for they, like the rest, were rather intimidated by the panorama before them. After the door was shut, the three Arwings and forty-five remaining Star Warriors landed nearby, awaiting further instructions from the Smashers. Four among them had been here before as prisoners during a time that seemed so long ago: Marth, Mario, Nana, and Ness. The four heroes, with the rest clustered a few yards behind, could not believe that after the terrible things they had witnessed here, they were now returning to the very place in which they'd been imprisoned. The Room was so breathtaking that the four of them just barely registered the fact that the door they'd entered through hadn't been there back when they were imprisoned. For a long while, everyone just stared at the disproportionate expanse beyond.

It was as if they'd been shrunk to the size of ants. The vast stretch of empty floor space constituted about sixty percent of the Room, and from end to end it was about a mile and a half long and the same distance wide. The walls rose up to about half that amount. Along the right wall were the colossal shelves bearing the various Nintendo gaming systems the same size as they had been inside the Dimension Conflux, with the SONY television in the center boasting a screen larger than an IMAX. Along the left-hand wall was a gigantic twin bed, above which were several posters depicting images of several Smashers, including Mario and Ness. In the far left corner was a corner-fitted wooden desk complete with a lamp, clock, computer, pencil holder, and assorted paper.

Finally, in the very center of Master Hand's Room was the great table bearing Master Hand's fortress. It was built of dark grey stone, its only windows dark and barred. The wall from a distance looked almost cylindrical, but in fact it was octagonal with crenellated battlements. There was no visible flag or insignia, and from their current position, neither the contents of the table nor the entrance to the fortress could be seen.

Nothing within the range of experience of all those who had just entered Master Hand's Room could ever match the unfamiliar fear that made each of them feel so small and insignificant to the point where they began to doubt their ability to continue their mission. This place, if it were shrunk to a normal size, would look like an unremarkable combination of an office and a bedroom with a castle model on a table; but as it was, they felt every bit as terrified as did the boy from _Jack and the Beanstalk_ while traversing the giant's household. It seemed to make their goal impossible.

The silent emptiness of Master Hand's lair also added to the suspense. Some had half-expected to find the Room filled with even more Wire Frames, but it was completely empty. After the long period of awe had passed, however, Mario took the initiative to snap the Smash Brothers out of their hopeless trance.

"Let's a-go!" the plumber urged, stepping forward. After movement had finally been made, everyone else worked up the courage to follow.

"I think I will stay here," Roy called from the very back next to the door. "In case something happens…." The others understood that the boy was not volunteering out of cowardice, but out of genuine desire to cover their backs.

For everyone else, the long, apprehensive trek across Master Hand's Room began. They moved at a brisk pace, but not at a charge; each soldier, hero, Star Warrior, and pilot was wary of his or her surroundings, ready to detect any kind of movement. But there seemed to be nothing in their way or blocking their path. It was as if Master Hand had invited them to his Room instead of this being the invasion it was supposed to be. So they went on for some time until they reached the legs of the giant table and finally had to decide what to do next.

And, of course, the two most experienced climbers in the Nintendo World were the ones who stepped forward with the solution. Popo rode on the wing of Fox's Arwing to the very top of the table, jumped off, and holding one end, threw down his climbing rope to Nana far below. For most anyone else, the drop from this table would seem terrifying, being over a hundred feet above the ground, but for the Ice Climbers, height was what they lived for.

After securing harnesses, end knots, and several soldiers on belay, Popo and Nana gave the go-ahead for people to start climbing. Nana remained at the bottom, instructing them on how to hold the rope and use it to ascend. Mario, Marth, and the other Smashers and heroes went first, followed by the soldiers. The horses had to be left below; even the giant nail to which Popo had tied the end of the rope would not be strong enough to pull the weight of such animals. A steady line of climbers had soon formed, taking about ten minutes for each individual to reach the top of the table.

Meanwhile, the three Arwings helped quicken the process by taking constant trips from the floor of the Toom to the tabletop, bearing four persons on each flight. Luckily, they had filled their ships' fuel tanks to the brim for this war, or else they never would have been able to stay aloft for so long. Meta Knight led the Star Warriors in a vertical formation that reached the top in moments, waiting on the table for the rest. For hours on end this continued nonstop, slowly decreasing the number of fighters still on the bottom and increasing those at the top.

Finally, after Nana had pushed herself over the wooden edge of the table and pulled up the rope, the five hundred Hylian and Akaneian soldiers were all clustered in the corner of the enormous table along with the heroes and resting from their tiring climb. The only ones who didn't seem fatigued and in need of a few minutes' rest were the Star Warriors and the Ice Climbers themselves. But although successful, this tedious task had taken a large amount of time. Outside the Toom, the sun was already beginning to set. King Dedede was commanding the armies of Dreamland to retreat; Mr. Dragon Patch was firing his final succession of flaming beach balls; Gadd was pursuing his evil cousin through the perils of Reeka's factory. They had consumed a great amount of time already and hadn't even reached the fortress yet. Time would be of the essence after their necessary rest.

Now that they were on the table, the contents of the surface could be seen. But contrary to what the four former prisoners remembered, the forest model in front of the Fortress was no longer there. In fact, it was now completely barren, polished white like a normal tabletop except for the rows and columns of objects lined up on it. Nothing moved nor appeared to stand in their way to the two gray stone doors at the front of the fortress. So, as the heroes led the army forward once more, they were taken aback as they realized what these organized objects were.

Trophies. Hundreds of them, lined up perpendicularly all across the table. Standing on each of the circular trophy stands were many familiar objects, creatures, and people from every realm of the Nintendo World. Master Hand's collection sent a chill down the spines of each of the invaders as they walked slowly past each row. They recognized Wario, Waluigi, and Sonic the Hedgehog from the list of those missing after the Battle of Fourside. But there were many, many others, and about a third were inanimate objects such as a Fire Flower or Screw Attack. All sorts of creatures from Hyrule, the Mushroom Kingdom, Dreamland, the Kongo Jungle, and space could be seen. Many inanimate Space Pirates seemed to silently threaten those passing by with their mutated insect-like features. It was a very unnerving thing for Mario and Luigi to walk past the Wario Bros, posing obliviously and completely lifeless. Shadow stopped again at Sonic's trophy and spoke quietly under his breath, "Don't worry, Sonic; soon we will bring you back."

Then the Smashers noticed something disturbing: the trophies of Pikachu, Peach, Samus, Captain Falcon, and potentially Zelda were nowhere to be found.

When at last they had reached the end of the life-sized trophy collection, organized like statues in a courtyard, the dark stone doors towered before them. But in place of knobs were white hands with open palms, just daring anyone to twist them. No one wanted to touch much less pull such uninviting hands, even if they weren't real. But it had to be done. Mario and Marth approached the doors, slowly reaching out to grasp the white hands….

They each grabbed a hand, twisted it, and with a heave, began pulling outward. But as soon as the white hands had been touched, a surge of some invisible force swept across the entire room, causing some to shudder. And then, before the two heroes could pull the heavy doors open any further, panicked yells erupted behind them. They turned around to behold a shocking scene.

The hundreds of armored soldiers, clustered throughout the Trophy collection, were in an uproar. For several, even dozens of what had been thought to be inanimate objects were now showing signs of life—unfriendly signs of life. All of the grotesque Space Pirates had suddenly cease their pretense of being immobilized and ambushed the soldiers, killing several immediately with energy scythes, Phazon-powered weapons, and other unfairly matched means of destruction. They advanced mercilessly, letting out cruel, inhumane snarls as they defied jabs from the soldiers' steel swords, which were far from able to penetrate their superior armor. Even though they were not many—about two dozen different mutations—only the weakest of Pirate Militia were at all harmed by the soldiers' defense. A few were successfully dismembered by Meta Knight and the other Star Warriors, but otherwise the pirates remained impervious. Fox, Falco, and Slippy had to exit their Arwings before they could lend their assistance, for it would not do for them to fire Arwing blasts that could harm their own.

And as if that wasn't enough, across the room from the computer desk, a purple beam blasted through the computer monitor in the direction of the table, missing, but shattering the screen and revealing what was hidden inside. It was Mother Brain, the contested commander of the Space Pirates. Her huge, spiked, slimy mass had been awaiting their arrival with the other Space Pirates the entire time, lodged inside the massive computer monitor that served as her energy source. Her single dark, throbbing eye had fired the beam, and already she was preparing a second.

And far below, appearing from behind a towering trash can, the 65-foot, 100-ton reptilian monster known as Kraid stomped toward the door, with only a single person to defend it—Roy. The prince was secretly frightened beyond belief, thinking that he would fight Akaneian dragons any day rather than this colossal creature, but he raised the Binding Blade nonetheless, flames rippling across the sword's edge.

Marth, Mario, and the other heroes were temporarily stunned at the entrance to the fortress. But then Marth shouted over the chaos in a commanding voice, "You must all go on. Now, while there's still time. I shall stay to defend my people as long as I live. But you are the only ones left to complete the mission; hurry! I know not how long these space fiends can be held off. No matter what happens, defeat Master Hand and Crazy Hand and find a way to reverse the effects of the trophy machine. I bid you all farewell." Not one to be swayed, Marth dashed away from the fortress into the masses of soldiers toward the nearest Space Pirate, not expecting to survive.

Mario and the rest were aghast, but they knew Marth was right. The red plumber, with a heave, pulled the door outward until the opening was wide enough for them to enter. "Let's a-go!"

"Waaaah, ho hwa huaa!" Luigi wailed, standing apart from the rest, shivering with his knees buckling and his hands pulling his hat down over his eyes.

Mario glared at his cowardly brother. "Luigi! Not even the Babies are a-crying! And somewhere in there, the Princess is a-waiting for us to rescue her! We must a-do it! And…" Mario looked down. "…we need your a-help."

Luigi stopped shaking and looked up, realizing his older brother was right. They had reached the final stage of the journey; they had come so far, and he couldn't quit now. "Let's e-go!" he agreed, shifting the dawdling Baby Luigi on his back.

And so, together, the ten heroes entered Master Hand's Fortress while the massacre continued behind them.


	27. Chapter 21: The Fortress (1)

Chapter 21: The Fortress

* * *

 **T** he Black Rose tore through the sky, maneuvering around lasers and Aparoids and Starmen and Cornerian war ships, until it rejoined Star Wolf and the Bounty Hunters. The encounter with Pigma had already passed, after which Panther had broken off to assist Yoshi and then Kirby. The push against the Wire Frames may still have left them greatly outnumbered, but the defense below still seemed to be holding in spite of the departure of a certain hammer-wielding penguin. And with the expertise of the group of flying rogues, the combat against the Aparoids was going even better. There were only a few of the parasites left, and the Cornerian Fleet was placing high priority on finishing them off.

"Alright, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm done here," Krystal said impatiently over the radio communicators. "I need to find Fox…." The Cloud Runner then turned away from the group and made a direct course for the arched door through which Star Fox had disappeared.

"Krystal…wait!" Panther said with a surprising amount of sincerity. "Panther wishes to help as well."

Wolf could see where this was going. "Leon, are you in? Where one member of the Elite Star Wolf Squadron goes, the team follows."

The chameleon shrugged. "More victims? Sure, why not?"

Behind them, the Bounty Hunters, as independent as they were, were communicating in some strange alien language. Finally, Sylux responded. "Most of us are tiring of this place as well. We will accompany you to this 'Master Hand's Room' out of pure curiosity."

"This way, then," Krystal said as she led them at a lower elevation toward the arch. "The path looks clear, but the door's shut." And indeed, thanks to the Great Fox, all the nearby Wire Frames, especially Link Frames, had been chased quite a ways away from the arch. If they'd looked carefully, they might have even spotted Link and Epona on the ground several hundred feet to the north.

"But…this door leads nowhere!" Trace the Bounty Hunter spat.

"Oh, I'm sure it does," Wolf objected. "Otherwise, McCloud and the others wouldn't have completely disappeared through it…"

"Only one way to find out," the blue fox said through gritted teeth as she fired several lasers at the wooden door, thinking about Fox. But with the mysticity of everything related to Master Hand, anyone might have predicted that this did not work. The smoke from the blast cleared to reveal the arch to be exactly the same as before.

The other ships waited as Krystal landed the Cloud Runner in front of the door and got out, hurrying up to the door. "I'm not usually one for ridiculous formalities, but…" Krystal knocked on the door.

As they waited, the Black Rose tilted slightly on its own as if it had gained a small extra burden of weight. "Hm?" Panther looked outside his cockpit on both sides, but saw nothing.

"What's wrong, Panther?" Wolf asked.

"Hm…must have been shrapnel, Panther thinks…" the black cat mused.

* * *

Roy's hands shook as he faced the oncoming Kraid. Those claws and belly spikes looked so very sharp….

Then he heard something that he'd least expected: a knock on the door. He wasn't usually one for ridiculous formalities, but he was getting desperate here….

"Hello?" Roy called over the noise of the chaos going on both inside and outside the Room. Kraid was getting nearer.

A muffled voice: "This is Krystal! I need to get to Fox! Please let us in!"

"Us?" But at this point, Roy figured that whoever was polite enough to take the time to knock on the door would be much less dangerous than facing Kraid alone. He opened the door, and was flung backwards as the Cloud Runner, followed by three Wolfens and nine Bounty Hunter ships, flew into the room. The red-haired prince hastily closed the door and relocked it before anything else could get inside.

The newcomers' reactions were not unlike that of the other Smash Brothers; if anything, they were even more taken back by the chaotic scene before them. And upon realizing the involvement of the Space Pirates, the Bounty Hunters backed away from one of their number

"Are you in on this, Weavel?" Noxus hissed, for Weavel was known to have mingled with Space Pirates in the past.

"As sure as Phaaze I'm not!" The singled-out Bounty Hunter spat. "I've been separated from the Space Pirates for years, and I would never side with this Master Hand freak!"

"Hmph. Fair enough," said Spire.

The Bounty Hunters were still suspicious, but they followed Krystal until finally locating Team Star Fox below.

"Fox! There he is!" Krystal wasted no time landing her ship next to the other Arwings and joining her team. She carried her magical blue staff, though still clad in her Cornerian pilot outfit.

But Fox was astounded, even angry, as he combated a Pirate Trooper. "Krystal? You shouldn't be here—"

"Save it, Fox. I'm helping. You can't expect me to sit on Sauria and wait for you to return or die." Krystal prevented the Trooper from blasting Fox from behind by whacking it with her staff.

Fox sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry, Krystal. Just…be careful."

Krystal smiled, and the two faced the enemy together.

Meanwhile, the airborne rogues looked about them.

"That swordsman looks like he needs assistance," Rundas said, and he flew off to help tackle Kraid.

"Is that… _Mother Brain?_ " Gandrayda and Ghor left to approach the deadly cyclopean enemy.

The remaining six Bounty Hunters and Star Wolf had also been about to land and attack the Space Pirates, but at that moment, dozens more revealed themselves from behind gaming systems, potted plants, and miscellaneous items on the desktop, and began firing weapons at them and the soldiers, creating an even more chaotic crossfire across the room. Roy and Rundas simultaneously took on Kraid. Only the four members of Team Star Fox were strong enough to fight back against the Space Pirates on the table, so it was a poor situation indeed for the soldiers from Hyrule and Akaneia.

"It looks like our hands are full," Wolf growled, looking around at the nearly overwhelming whirlwind of enemies.

"You don't say," said Sylux.

"I will destroy them all!" Kanden bellowed. He and the rest of the Bounty Hunters went off into the fray.

"This is cowardice!" Leon raged. For once, the vile reptile was unable to take in all of these new victims at once.

" _Urmph…"_

Wolf's instincts sensed something very wrong, and he turned his Wolfen to the Black Rose, which had now become a sickly bluish-purple.

"Panther…? Are you alright?

* * *

The stone door slammed shut behind Mario and the rest, echoing throughout the wide hallway they had just entered. The interior of Master Hand's fortress was sparsely lit, only illuminated by the torches forever gripped by the white hands attached to the dark stone walls. The ceiling was rather low, only a foot or so above Luigi's head (who was the tallest among them). The floor was covered by a surprisingly clean, dark-red carpet, with narrow strips of stone still visible at the edge on each side. The air tasted musty and old, almost ancient. The hall extended about a hundred feet to what seemed to be a dead end at the wall on the other side.

Shadow was the first to step forward, and he apprehensively led the rest down the dark, empty hallway. Shadows flickered everywhere from the small flames on each side. They moved on, watching for any sort of surprise to leap out of the darkness, but nothing hindered them. At last, they reach the end of the hallway, but, as mentioned before, it appeared to lead to nothing but a solid stone wall composed of large blocks.

Ness, along with the rest, stopped and stared at the dead end. "Um…what now?"

"Hm…" Shadow folded his arms. "I've never been through this way, so I couldn't tell you…."

"Wait a-minute!" Mario approached the wall and crouched down to inspect the stone surface. He ran one of his gloved hands across it. "This stone is a-newly placed! It's still a-wet. Master Hand must have a-known we were a-coming. If only Bombette or Bobbery were a-here…."

He turned around after a round pink fist tapped him on the shoulder. Bomberman was waving his arms frantically, pointing to himself in obvious exasperation.

"Ooh, charades! Wait…I know this one…." Ness did his best to interpret the arm gestures, unaware that Bomberman couldn't talk. "Um…a bird? Swimming? No. A constipated butterfly?"

Pac-man laughed. "It's not a game, Ness. This is Bomberman; he can't speak, but he _can_ bomb this wall for us."

Bomberman nodded, and with a furrowed brow, motioned for everyone to back away as he drew out a smooth black bomb with a skull on it, signifying that this was no ordinary bomb; it was a Dangerous Bomb, which he used only for special circumstances such as this. After the fuse was lit, Bomberman tossed the Dangerous Bomb so that it landed very near the center of the wall, and backed away.

 _BOOM!_ A powerful red blast consumed the wall in fire and smoke, and fragments of stone and debris blew past them. The blast cleared to reveal that a strangely symmetrical hole had indeed been blasted in the wall, inside which a curving staircase wound its way up and to the right. The Zelda Secret Jingle echoed through the hallway from nowhere in particular.

"What was that?" Ness asked. But neither of the Links were there to answer him.

"Way to go, Bomberman!" the Ice Climbers cheered simultaneously as they began to ascend the stairs. It rose to the second of the fortress's five floors, curving around and ending in another stone door with another white hand in place of a doorknob. They were all rather disturbed by this creepy, repetitive pattern of lifeless hands. Everyone tensed as Pac-man opened the door to the next floor.

And now they had finally reached the floor that was so familiar to the former prisoners, for before them lay the very Trophy Transformer that had solidified Pikachu and Princess Peach. The circular room contained nothing else besides wall shackles and more hand-borne torches, which were not adequate for illuminating the whole room—or at least, not for the heroes cautiously entering it. Across from them were the familiar red double doors, and to their right was another opening beyond which another staircase continued to ascend.

"We must a-go through the red doors," Mario decided. "If Master Hand still a-keeps any prisoners alive, that's a-where they'll be." And everyone knew what Mario meant by alive: still breathing and moving, as opposed to being a helpless, lifeless trophy.

Constantly glancing around and behind them, the party approached the red double doors and pushed through them without being challenged. Beyond they found, as they'd expected, the old hallway from which all of the cells branched. The complex of hallways was actually based on a complete circle with several straight hallways extending around it and ending a distance farther out so that the layout from above would look like a sun with rays coming off of it, the Trophy Transformer room being the center of it all. These hallways were, of course, like all the rest, dark and poorly lit by hand torches. And at the far end of each corridor was a large stained-glass window, depicting strange shapes and colors.

They found the first "sunray" hallway directly through the red doors, with several black, steel cell doors along each side. Looking through the small barred window on each door, however, they found all the cells empty.

"There are more," Nana urged.

The Ice Climbers, being in back, turned around and led the rest back to the roundabout hallway where they continued clockwise to the next sunray. But they found the second and third halls completely empty as well, and in the fourth found only dust-covered dishes, moth-eaten blankets, and gnawed bones.

In the fifth straight hallway, which was exactly opposite the first, they heard a sound coming from the furthest cell on the left. Mario and Ness felt particularly drawn to the stained-glass window at the end, which seemed to portray a cluster of purple polygonal creatures, causing them to experience a weird bout of déjà vu.

Mario frowned anxiously. This was the very hall where he, Peach, Marth, Ness, Pikachu, Zelda, Link, Falco, and Nana had been imprisoned, and where Metal Bowser had sent him tumbling out the window with clothes aflame. Now they were back to turn the tables.

The ten heroes rushed over to the cell where the sounds were coming from, and Mario looked through the barred window. He could just make out two dark outlines, one leaning against the wall, the other sitting on the stone bench. "We need to break down this a-door," Mario said. He looked at Bomberman.

 _Stand back_ , Bomberman motioned as he drew out another bomb. He bowled it into the door, and it went off with a mild explosion. But the dust cleared to reveal the steel door still perfectly intact, and now it was glowing with a translucent purple barrier.

"It's protected with magic," Shadow muttered. "That means these must be some high-profile prisoners…"

"Hello?" Luigi called through the barred window. "We're a-here to rescue you!"

"Luigi!" One of the taller figures rushed over to the door, peering through the small opening, but they were still separated by the force field. The brown hair, yellow dress, and flowery tiara revealed Princess Daisy to be the speaker. "You came to save me? My hero!" Despite Daisy's boundless energy, it was apparent from her faint voice that she was in very poor condition.

"Er…yeah…don't a-worry," was all Luigi could say.

The other figures looked over at the door, but they didn't seem to think the newcomers would be able to break through it.

"Now how are we going to-get a-through?" Mario wondered out loud. But he had no bright ideas.

Suddenly, the entire hallway became even darker, but with an artificial, unnatural darkness. Everyone seemed to be frozen in place—except for Shadow. "Chaos…CONTROL!"

A burst of hazy red light pierced both the force field and the door, and the strange darkness receded. Everything went back into motion, and the heavy door collapsed inwards.

Daisy staggered, coughing, out of the cell, followed by Princess Zelda. Both looked extremely pale, dirty, and fatigued. But they were still alive, and still able to move around.

"Are you alright?" Mario asked.

Zelda pushed back a strand of hair from her face. "Yes. Thank you for coming for us. But why are you all who have come? Where is everyone else?"

Pac-man explained the status of the war—how it was raging both in the Battlefields and the Room—and that they were the only ones who made it to the fortress without being diverted by other enemies. And now they had to find a way to reverse the effects of the Trophy Transformer.

"Hm…so that's why Master Hand emptied the fortress…wait…." Zelda's left hand pulsed and glowed with the Triforce of Wisdom. "I sense that both of the other possessors of the Triforce are in grave danger. Now that you have broken the magic caging us here, I will take Princess Daisy to safety and see what the situation is. I'm sorry I cannot render you additional aid here, but this is important; if everything that's been said about the Original 25 is true, it could mean the difference between victory and defeat. I thank you again…."

"Luigi…be careful," said Daisy, giving Luigi a hug.

Zelda used her magic to create a swirling current of green energy: Farore's Wind. As the prisoners were swept away by the magic, Zelda's voice echoed, "It's all up to you now. Goodbye, heroes…and good luck…." And then they were gone.

Luigi was shaken; he did not know what to think anymore.

"Let's move on," Shadow said.

They proceeded to the sixth hallway but found it also empty. In a cell on the left-hand side of the seventh hallway, there was a lone inmate. After Pac-man had rolled into the door and destroyed it, the small, immature green man known as Tingle hobbled out and thanked them in a squeaky voice. But before they could ask for his help, he hollered, "Kooloo-limpah!" and vanished in a shower of confetti. Again, it would have been nice to have Link there to make some sense of this, but in any case, they moved on once more.

Finally, in the eighth and last hallway, a great surprise awaited them in the first cell on their left. Ness shattered the door with a PK Flash, and inside were three characters no one had expected to find—especially Shadow.

"Tails? Knuckles? Amy? How can this be?" The black hedgehog's eyes were as wide with shock as they'd been when he'd first seen Sonic as a trophy, and his face wore the same pained expression from when he'd submitted himself to Professor E. Gadd. "You were taken back to the Microsoft World when the escape raft was seized by their warships…."

And indeed, it was Tails, Sonic's furry yellow fox friend with two bushy tails; Knuckles the red echidna, his spiked gloves clenched; and Amy, the cute pink hedgehog with a bright red dress as well as a red hammer that she was resting upon (it occurred to Mario and Ness how strange it was that Master Hand hadn't confiscated his prisoners' weapons here, while he had done so in the dungeon beneath the Fourside Colosseum). But they all looked even more exhausted than Zelda and Daisy, for they had been here even longer.

Knuckles spoke in a hoarse voice. "Is that what Master Hand told you, traitor?"

Shadow's head sunk, his eyes closed. "I did betray Sonic, I will confess. But I've changed. We're here to end this war and preserve the Nintendo World's natural order and rescue everyone who's fallen into Master Hand's clutches. I am sorry for the trouble I've caused, and I don't expect you to forgive me. But please…if not for me, will you all help such great heroes as Mario put an end to Master Hand's reign once and for all? For Sonic's sake?"

"Are you kidding?" said Tails. "We've been here for so long, my tails are acting like dust collectors. Hardly fit to spin at this point…."

"Yeah, sorry, Shadow." Amy Rose massaged her temples. "We're in no condition to do _anything_ useful at the moment. You'll have to come back for us when this is all over. Just try not to destroy the fortress in the process…."

"Very well, then," Shadow said, still unable to meet their eyes. "I understand. Be safe. Mario, I think we are done searching. Time to get to the bottom of this…or in this case, the top…." He and the rest turned to go.

"Good luck, Shadow," Knuckles, Tails, and Amy called as they left. Shadow smiled faintly. They really did care.

They came back to the big red double doors and reentered the round center room with the Trophy Transformer. Upon turning to their left to ascend the stairs to the next floor up, however, they found the opening blocked by a single figure facing away from them amid the shadowy darkness.

The metallic figure turned around. It was Metal Peach, hostile and expressionless. Nana wondered what it would feel like for a normal person to wear that heavy metal dress. Unfortunately, none of them—particularly Ness, who would have known what to do about it—noticed a small silver badge with a blue lightning bolt pinned to her chest.

"Here we go!" shouted Mario, generating a burning red fireball and hurling it at the metal clone. But the Franklin Badge glinted as it reflected Mario's projectile and sent it back at them. Ness, realizing what it was just before the fireball was thrown, was barely able to jump in front of the reflected fire and use his shielding PSI Magnet to absorb it.

"This is bad," Ness said. "With that badge attached to it, none of our projectile attacks'll work…so we can't melt it."

But Metal Peach did not immediately fall upon them. Instead, it shook its head, metal hair shaking with it, and held up two fingers, still blocking their way up the narrow staircase.

"What's it trying to say?" Nana said.

But then, not unlike Mewtwo's telepathy, a mental message seemed to pair itself with Metal Peach's gesture and make itself inexplicably clear to each of them: _Two must stay._

"Two of us have to stay here," Popo said. "The rest of us can go on. And…I think it'll fight those two…."

The force of this reality struck each of the eight heroes (the Babies didn't have a clue about what was going on, merely content to doze on their older selves' backs until they were needed). Their group was being narrowed down even further.

"I will stay," Pac-man determined. "I think I have an idea how to deal with this iron maiden."

And Bomberman's determined voluntary gesture made it apparent he was desirous to remain here as well.

The two volunteers stepped aside, making themselves clearly known to the gaze of their foe.

"Ball!" Baby Mario protested, reaching out toward Pac-man, not wanting to leave him behind. Baby Luigi started crying, sharing the same opinion about Bomberman.

"Let's eh-go," Luigi said, bouncing up and down in an effort to satisfy his cargo.

Mario, Shadow, the Ice Climbers, and Ness agreed, and they stepped tentatively toward Metal Peach, still tensed and ready for any sudden attacks. However, true to its word, the clone stepped aside and allowed them to enter the stairway. Trying not to look back, the remaining heroes ascended the stairs, and soon began to hear loud noises coming from the room they'd just left behind. It was hard for most of them to not stop and go back to help, but they knew that every moment they spent here, fellow Nintendonians perished in order to give them that time. So without stopping, they continued up the stairs to the next stone door and went through to the next floor.

It was another circular hallway, if slightly wider, so dark and silent that it was almost worse than having enemies to face. Deciding to venture left, they walked down the gloomy curved hallway until finding a door on the inner wall. But Shadow twisted the glove handle and found it locked with a keyhole underneath, so apparently they would have to find the key first. Always following the sparse light of the hand torches, they pressed on a bit further, the hallway always curving to the right until it opened out into a larger room.

This room was also round, but more of an oval than a circle. For the most part, it was the same as the hallways, with shadowy edges and a dark red carpet. But on the ground were traced 25 circles of some kind of white chalk in an arrangement that would look familiar to any human selecting a character in the video game _Super Smash Bros. Melee_. However, this was not how the intruders saw it until they advanced far enough into the room to turn and see it clearly for themselves. The circles were arranged in perfect intervals and rows, and although simple in appearance, they seemed to draw out such a sense of foreboding from the Smashers that they wanted nothing more than to run out of the room and never come back. But somehow they could tell that the key they needed to obtain would be located somewhere in this room. And there was another important fact about the circles.

Four of them were covered up.

Four trophy stands, hosting four life-sized trophies of Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, and Captain Falcon. They were not next to each other, but were placed on the circles in the positions where they would be on the character selection screen (which, of course, the Nintendonians knew nothing about). This came partly as a shock, and partly as a relief to the heroes. As long as their fellows still existed as trophies and were not completely destroyed, there was still hope of bringing them back.

But the heroes were suddenly shaken out of their trance by the clinking of armor behind them. Turning around, they faced a tall, ominous figure. He was covered with thick black armor, had a long red and black cape, wielded a massive sword with the point in the ground, and his head was hidden in a helmet with a T-shaped opening for the face that was hidden in shadow.

Popo gulped as he recognized the Black Knight, who had fought Mr. Game & Watch in the Fourside Tournament; he had seen him in the infirmary just before the Battle of Fourside had begun. But why was he here now? Had he been in Master Hand's employ this whole time?

In their terror at the sight of the Black Knight, they did not notice at first that he was standing on a trophy stand and was just as rigid as all the other trophies. Even then, they were perplexed by the clanking of the knight's armor when it couldn't move.

Then, as they gazed upon him, a ring of blue light appeared and descended from the top of the Black Knight's helmet, around the entire figure, down to the bottom edge of the trophy stand. As it went, the colors of the knight's armor, cape, and sword became bolder and were given life. To prove it, he flexed his limbs and traced his heavy sword a few inches along the ground before speaking in a deep, commanding voice.

"Two must stay." The same message that had been delivered on the second floor. Now their party would become even smaller, but there seemed no way around it.

Popo and Nana nodded to each other and grasped each other's hands. "We will stay," they said in unison.

The Black Knight nodded, then extended to Mario, in his left hand, a small silver key. Mario took it reluctantly, having no desire to abandon yet another part of their group.

"It's time to move on," Shadow said. Almost as if they had no control over their own limbs, Mario, Luigi, and Ness followed Shadow back down the hallway, leaving the Ice Climbers, who showed no fear, brandishing their small wooden mallets that seemed pathetic in comparison to the Black Knight's broad, deadly blade. As Shadow and the others left toward the door, they could faintly hear the voice of the Black Knight conversing with his victims.

"Fools," he boomed. "My armor is blessed and protected by the power of the goddesses. No weapon can pierce me but one which is bestowed with the same power!"  
"That may be," Popo said fearlessly, although he had every right to fear. "But at least our sacrifice will allow our friends to stop the likes of you and Master Hand!"

The last thing Ness heard before following the rest up yet another flight of stairs was something that frightened him even more than the Black Knight himself.

"You think I serve Master Hand by my own will?"

It was harder than ever to go on at that point, but the thought of him and all of the Original 25 filling that room as trophies—maybe even forced to serve Master Hand against their will—pushed him on; he couldn't let that happen, and he knew sacrifices would have to be made.

The next staircase ascended straight instead of curving around, and when they reached the door at the top shortly thereafter, they thought that surely they must be near the top of the fortress. The only sounds were those of their own feet plodding on the red carpet, the soft burning of the hand torches, and the faint din of fighting below them and outside the fortress.

The six remaining heroes entered the 4th floor, chilled by the cool, musty air. It was but a single room shaped like an octagon. On the opposite wall was another staircase going back down, and to their right was still another ascending staircase. The room was filled with all kinds of technological junk and obscure objects. There were broken machines of every sort (most likely built by Professor U. Reeka) stacked in towering piles, blocking their view from several angles. But this mess of contraptions was so unfamiliar to the heroes that they could hardly recognize or put a name to anything. One thing that stood out, however, as they approached the staircase, was a large rectangular box with deep imprints forming a shape of some importance. They saw several of these, actually, as they moved on and the silence continued.

"What are a-those?" Luigi wondered aloud.

Ness, who had been staring long and hard at these boxes as they walked through, was wide-eyed. "I think they're… _molds_. See, that one right there looks just like Donkey Kong's face…and _that_ one over there looks just like the front of Samus's Power Suit."

No one said anything in response to this, but upon considering the boy's theory, it was evident that he was right. There were molds here, no doubt, for each of the Original 25, just as there had been a white circle on the floor below for each former participant. And the only things these molds could have been used to make, the Smashers realized, were copies of themselves. Clones. Metal clones. But, for some reason or another, only one had been made to rival each of them. They could only imagine what it would have been like if, instead of an army of Wire Frames, _all_ of Master Hand's forces had been built of solid iron. So why hadn't it been done?

Now they were close enough to the entrance of the rising stairway to see that just like two floors below, their path of travel was obstructed by a metal figure. Only this one was taller than Metal Peach, and very broad-shouldered because it appeared to be wearing some sort of armored suit.

Metal Samus. Part of the handful of metal clones that had yet to be conquered.

The doppelganger was pointing its arm cannon directly at them, silently warning them not to move any closer. Those approaching stopped, noticing this time that Metal Samus, too, wore a Franklin Badge attached to the front. _I wonder how they got their hands on those,_ Ness thought.

Then, as before with Metal Peach, a mental message was conveyed in a harsh, metallic tone: _Two must stay_.

The six heroes had expected this, but they still thought grimly of the increased risk of their endeavor now that their group was almost all split up. Mario and Luigi, piggybacking their infant selves, knew they could not leave behind the Babies to face Metal Samus alone, nor could they send them onward without knowing what perils awaited beyond. But Ness and Shadow glanced at each other and nodded.

"We will stay," Shadow said as he and Ness stepped away from the icons of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Metal Samus nodded and arched up its arm cannon as it stepped back to allow the Marios and Luigis to pass. They looked back, hesitating at the thought of losing even more companions, but then turned away and proceeded up the stairs.

"Don't worry, kid," Shadow muttered to Ness as they prepared for combat. "You and I are both powerful of mind and will. We can find a way around that reflector."

"Yeah," Ness said, although he was quivering while he said it. "I know we can."

Mario and Luigi ascended to the fifth and highest floor of the fortress. If there had been windows, they would have been able to look down upon the table far below where hundreds of soldiers were still being oppressed by some Space Pirates while others were engaged by Bounty Hunters and Wolfens in the air. But the fact that they couldn't see any of this only made their task feel more urgent when they had no way of knowing how quickly their side was losing numbers.

Luigi had a thought. "Mario, what if this is a trap?"

Mario stopped and turned to his brother. "Then we a-face it together."

They pulled open the heavy door at the end of the staircase, expecting perhaps Crazy Hand, or even worse, Master Hand.

But while the top floor of the fortress was indeed the common residence of the two Hands, the rectangular room inside revealed no giant white gloves to be found. A huge map of the Nintendo World was stretched across one of the walls, with certain areas crossed out or circled, and lines and arrows drawn across it. This was what the Marios and Luigis now faced. Also, in contrast to the rest of the dark gloomy fortress, this room at least was well lit with bright ceiling lights, and instead of cold stone walls, they were smooth, sleek, and painted in a way that made it look somewhat like a classroom. There was small wooden door to the right of the giant map. Several tables and chairs were placed throughout the room (though for what use the chairs were to Master Hand, it was impossible to guess), and on top of them were dozens of paper stacks with all sorts of information Mario and Luigi didn't have time to read. For their attention (including the Babies) was focused on two figures facing the map on the other side of the room.

One was about as tall as Mario, but thinner than Luigi; they could see from behind that he wore a brown cap and shirt with yellow overalls. The other was over seven feet tall, extremely thick and muscular, and wore orange overalls with a blue shirt and cap. If Wario and Waluigi had been there, they could have warned the Mario Bros about the danger of these two, but alas, they were instead being used as cover for Fox and Krystal against a Space Pirate's plasma gun.

After several seconds of silence as Mario and Luigi stood frozen in place at the entryway, the Mario-sized one spoke in a very non-Mario-like accent. "Ah, so our heroic guests have arrived at last. We were beginning to think the four of you would never show up, but fortunately you have not disappointed us—or Master Hand. You see, it was he who set in place this entire arrangement; he ensured that by the time anyone reached the top of the fortress, only the legendary champions of the Mushroom Kingdom would be present. And that is from where you hail…is it not?" With that, the Lario Bros turned around to face their predestined rivals—although Mauluigi, not being the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, was delayed a second or two before remembering he was supposed to follow his brother's lead.

Lario smiled as he twirled his fancy curled mustache in his finger. "I am Lario, and this is my companion Mauluigi. A pleasure meeting you, I'm sure. We are two of Master Hand's most marvelous creations, brought into This World for the sole purpose of defeating you. I'm sure you've had a delightful journey filled with wonderful adventures, but unfortunately, Superstars…this is where your adventure ends!"

Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind them. Mario and Luigi whipped around to see Metal Mario and Luigi barring their way out. And when they turned back around, Mauluigi was gripping a small remote control and pressing a big red button with his chubby thumb. And the ground below them began to glow.

The Mario Bros looked down in panic and saw they were standing on two glowing white hands, the same kind that had turned Wario, Waluigi, and Sonic into trophies. But their shoes seemed to be magnetized to the spot. It was all over….

The wall on the left exploded. Pieces of debris, big and small, flew everywhere. A table slammed into the Marios and Luigis, knocking them off the white hands on the floor, which created a blinding flash and faded away, leaving a rather underwhelming Table Trophy. A hovering figure in a red cloak with a jetpack helmet burst into the room through the large hole that had been formed, cackling.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Fawful gave every impression of an evil clown child. "At last I have found you, Red and Green! The long journey here was akin to a metaphorical ice cream sundae, each layer filled with delectably innocent victims, which were delicious! But now I have reached what I have come for, what I have craved the most: the cherry on top! The cherry of inexorable requital! For in the last moments of the finale of the finale, as I, Fawful, have previously declared, negligence begets rashness; that is when I will end your worthless lives, which are as worthless as an expired packet of taco sauce…that is of no worth! And I will smear and laugh upon anyone who stands near, around, or behind my way…my diabolical, ingenious way of evil! And now, to the fighting! I HAVE FURY!"

Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi looked about themselves: Lario, Mauluigi, Metal Mario, and Metal Luigi all against them, and Fawful against…everyone. The stakes were high, the location precarious. This would be one heck of a battle.


	28. Chapter 21: The Fortress (2)

A gust of green wind swirled beside the fallen Link. Zelda stepped out of the gust and rushed over to kneel down next to the hero. She felt his pulse, but it was gone.

"Link…" Rushes of blue magic surged through Zelda's arms and hands into Link's body, but after all her efforts, were still unable to arouse him. The Hero of Time was really gone. Tears began to stream down the princess's face.

That same Link who had been separated from his mother at birth, and left to the care of the Great Deku Tree. The same Link who had wandered into her courtyard, quiet but charming, and found her watching the sociopathic deceitfulness of Ganondorf before her father, King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule. That same Link who had traveled across Hyrule as a boy, slaying gruesome monsters, in order to fulfill the quest set upon him by herself so long ago. The same Link who had drawn the legendary Master Sword, restored the Six Sages, and brought peace to the land of Hyrule. And now, he was dead.

Zelda saw nearby what was left of Epona, and looked out to where the nearest fighting was taking place, seeing Young Link slashing Wire Frames alongside a rhinoceros. She looked back down at Link, the setting sun shining on his courageous face. Zelda feared that with one or more of the Original 25 stricken down, victory against Master Hand would be impossible, in accordance with the prophecy. Her magic wasn't strong enough to bring him back.

 _Her_ magic.

The Triforce may not be powerful enough to defeat Master Hand, but it could at least give the Original 25 a fighting chance. Just one—that was all they could ask for.

Princess Zelda raised her left hand and looked to the bleeding sky. The Triforce of Wisdom glowed on the back of her hand. Ganondorf had never known, not even Link had fully understood the power of the Triforce of Wisdom. For as long as she still possessed it, it could call upon the power of the goddesses to draw the other two together. So as she did this, the Triforce of Courage and Triforce of Power glowed on the hands of Link and Ganondorf, and the two golden triangles, rotating slowly, left their hosts, and shot toward each other from across the Battlefields, becoming blurs of sparkling light. They joined together with a white flash above her, and it was then she allowed her own Triforce piece to join them. Once the golden triangle had left her hand and connected with the two above, the completed Triforce continued to rotate and shine in the air. Zelda then poured out all her energy, all her magic, and all her love into the Triforce, and prayed with all her heart that the divine powers would grant her wish: to have a chance.

The Triforce flashed in response, and then the three golden pieces split and sped back to their respective hosts. Zelda gasped as she regained the Triforce of Wisdom, and then watched as another piece shot off across the Battlefields to reenter Ganondorf, while the third descended into the hand of Link's body before her.

At first, nothing appeared to happen. A familiar disembodied voice spoke a single sentence.

 _I am so proud of you, my child…._

"Father?" Zelda's mixed despair and hope battled inside her mind as she heard the voice. But the King of Hyrule said no more.

Then, Link's eyes slowly opened, and he began moving his hands and feet. Miles away, Ganondorf did the same.

Without even thinking, Zelda knelt down and hugged Link, grateful to the goddesses for the chance they'd been given—for Link and Ganondorf, a second chance. She helped him stand up, realizing that in addition to the Hero of Time, their sworn enemy had also been revived. But she knew it was a necessary price.

Link shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "What…happened? Metal Link…Epona…EPONA!" The young man looked around for his horse, but found only a sad skeleton of his former steed. He saw it, and was silent, not even awake enough to realize the significance of Zelda's presence.

"I'm sorry, Link," Zelda said. "There was nothing I could do for her…and now, my magic is gone. It took every ounce of power I had to bring you and Ganondorf back. But it is not for us, I feel, to return to the fortress or the Room. Now all we can do is join your younger self and put all our stakes on Mario and the others…."

Link was deep in thought, recollecting old memories of his adventures with Epona. He remembered first meeting the deep chestnut-colored horse in Lon-Lon Ranch, where from the beginning she had seemed to trust him. And then, seven years later, he had returned and won her by racing the corrupted Ingo, and they had escaped together by leaping over the corral gate. And so helpful she had been in traveling to and fro across Hyrule Field and defeating certain enemies, he could never forget Epona's sweet whinny and sleek mane, and her fierce, noble eyes. It was only after paying silent tribute to his loyal horse for a good while before he had room to consider the fact that he'd been brought back to life by the one whom he'd usually be saving.

He turned to Zelda. "Thank you, princess. I would not be able to avenge Epona if not for you. But now…" He threw the Biggoron Sword aside and drew the shining Master Sword. "I must make sure the younger me doesn't suffer the same agonies for himself and his animal friend as I have for mine." He rushed forward.

Meanwhile, the King of Evil stood once more, glad to see his metal opponent vanquished, but still thirsty to take out his rage and pain on others. He knew not how he had been revived, but now all that mattered was making the most of it. With a cry, Ganondorf drew his heavy blade infused with dark powers and did the same as his Hylian nemesis.

* * *

The Ice Climbers panted as they faced the Black Knight again in the dark, elliptical room.

"What are we going to do, Popo?"

"Well, we have two options," Popo said, still not afraid of their opponent. "We could distract him as long as possible and then be killed, _or_ we could find a way to defeat him."

"How can we do that?" Nana thought the situation hopeless.

"Fools, your doom is nigh!" The Black Knight bellowed.

Popo ignored this. He only smiled at his twin sister. "By using our resources." The blue Ice Climber reached into his parka and took out an object they had both nearly forgotten: the Pencil.

* * *

All at once, the situation was thrown into chaos. Fawful fired a green bean-shaped laser while the Lario Bros and Metal Mario Bros all dived toward the same target: Mario and Luigi. But at the very last moment, the two heroes, with the Babies secured tightly to their backs, leapt backwards into the air, flipping and landing smoothly near the descending stairs. In the midst of the commotion, Mario and Luigi methodically curled together into a red and green Bros Ball, and Baby Mario whacked it squarely with his hammer. The spinning ball bounced off each of the villains in turn—Lario, Mauluigi, Metal Mario, Metal Luigi, and Fawful—knocking them down or at least briefly stunning them—and rolled out the open door adjacent to the wall map (the door had been broken by Fawful's entrance). The Babies scuttled past and followed their matured selves, bouncing with each step.

The Bros Ball found itself facing a sheer drop-off without rails, and beyond it a spectacular view of the battle with the Space Pirates. From this high point, at least a couple hundred feet above the tabletop, they had a decent view of the entirety of Master Hand's Room, and all of the specks on the table and around the room—even Kraid and Mother Brain—seemed an insignificant part of the background compared to the enemies behind them. To each side was an ascending staircase winding around and up the wall of the fortress. This being its only open path, the Bros Ball awaited the Babies, who improvised by jumping on top of the ball and rolling it unsteadily up the stairs. Each step, as part of some bizarre video game-inspired rule, had little impact on their ascent, and they rolled up the left staircase as if it were as smooth as a ramp.

Logistics aside, the ball rolled around the curving side of the fortress, the battlements above them drawing closer and closer as they went. There was a certain sense of heightened panic and their hearts were pounding as they finally reached the top of the staircase on the opposite end of the fortress. Now level with the top, they found a stone arch on their left connected to the crenellations that encircled the rooftop. Without hesitation, the circus-like spectacle of the Babies rolling the Bros Ball passed through the arch and halted in the middle of the octagonal roof. Mario and Luigi untangled themselves and dizzily turned back toward the arch they'd just come through.

It wasn't long before they heard another explosion that shook the entire fortress. A few seconds later, the Metal Mario Bros, clanging with each footstep, rushed up the stairs and faced them. From the other side, Fawful rose over the battlements using his jetpack helmet, and the Lario Bros, using some sort of cooperative wall-jumping technique, had managed to use the wall of the fortress to propel themselves over the side as well. They were surrounded again.

"I say, dear fellows, prepare to suffer!" Lario twirled his mustache for a moment and then returned to a fighting stance.

The four Italians, now back in piggyback pairs, looked at each other and nodded. Then, simultaneously…

" _HERE WE GO!"_

The events that followed were not much more than a blur. All four heroes raised up Copy Flowers, and multitudes of each Mario and Luigi poured out from their originators. Then, Bros Items were flung out everywhere from the center, and pretty soon the mass of Marios and Luigis was mobbing with scrambled attacks directed at their enemies. Green and Red Shells skidded around with an occasional Baby riding it. Fireballs, iceballs, and Smash Eggs soared up toward the airborne Fawful. Copies bounced off of Trampolines and shot out of Cannons in order to attempt to land on the Lario Bros. Barking Chain Chomps dragged Copies across the rooftop, scraping against the battlements and hungrily sniffing out their opponents. Several clusters of Copies began to feed fireballs into huge, sun-like balls of flames called Mix Flowers. It was red and green chaos, and for a while, the heroes could not see how their enemies were handling it.

But then, the sky began to glow, and an enormous blast of blue energy disintegrated all the jumping Copies. "I HAVE FURY!" Fawful screamed as he blasted Marios and Luigis into oblivion. Meanwhile, the Metal Mario Bros executed repetitive spin attacks, knocking aside everything in their way—Copies, shells, and Chain Chomps alike. And the Lario Bros were performing stunning cooperative maneuvers, Mauluigi serving as the base or powerhouse for most of these attacks, Lario acting as the light, speedy component of the duo. Even Mario and Luigi had to admit they made a great team.

In a matter of minutes, much to the Marios' and Luigis' dismay, most of the Copies were destroyed. Only a few remained, obliviously continuing to feed to a single Mix Flower. And the heroes watched as these too were soon gone. However, they had just enough time to dive out of the way, for the fiery product of the Mix Flower, without the Copies to hold it up, was swiftly descending toward the top of the fortress. Fawful and the Lario Bros quickly moved out of the way, but the Metal Mario Bros seemed to be caught in the giant red ball's path with their weight now working against them. The two trudged, far too slowly, away from the huge shadow closing in on them, but it appeared obvious that they weren't going to make it. Then, unexpectedly, Metal Luigi grabbed its iron brother by the feet and began swinging it around, finally flinging Metal Mario a safe distance away. The Mix Flower made contact with the fortress and burst apart, consuming Metal Luigi and leaving a giant scorch mark in the middle of the flat rooftop.

This left the original party still intact except for Metal Mario's companion. The clone, although incapable of emotions, appeared infuriated by the loss of its partner. It, along with the Lario Bros and Fawful, proceeded to face the Marios and Luigis once more.

Mario smiled, knowing that the special Badges they all carried allowed them an unlimited number of Bros Items. "Well, let's a-try that again." He and the other three began to reach for more Copy Flowers, but they were abruptly interrupted.

Lario, his mustache singed off on one side, saw what they were trying to do. "Oh, bother! Mauluigi, do be a mate and confiscate those unsportsmanlike badges."

The bulky Mauluigi only grunted in reply, but complied by pulling out a humungous horseshoe magnet. He pointed the device at the Mario Bros and activated it with a switch. They gasped as four small, shiny badges flew off of their blue trousers and stuck onto the edges of the magnet. The Copy Flowers in their hands vanished with a puff of white smoke along with the rest of their Bros Items. Mauluigi took the badges in his fist (which was the size of a platter) and crushed them into dust, spreading the particles with his feet with a deep, childish snicker. Everyone remained still, Fawful pointing his helmet gun at everyone, waiting for something to happen, Metal Mario just glaring at its targets.

"Now," Lario said in a soft, dangerously calm voice. "We've had enough games, haven't we, Mario? It would seem the time has arrived for us to pull out one of _our_ gadgets, don't you think? I believe you will find this object very familiar…." The half-mustachioed hireling drew out a glowing yellow object which was nothing less than the Superstar, one of the Dimension Relics.

"Oh no!" Mario and Luigi cried out.

"Oh, yes, I say!" Lario laughed (and one can, with some effort, imagine what laughing sounds like for someone with an accent like his). "Ironic, isn't it, that you are to be finished by one of the very powers which have marked your history, one of the same powers you left to find! This has, unfortunately, gone on long enough to satisfy my tastes. So, in the name of the almighty Master Hand, I say, _goodbye, Mario Brothers!"_

With that, Lario squeezed the Superstar in his gloved hand and was covered with shining golden light, which sparkled and shimmered around him. His eyes glowed with immense energy, but somehow, that energy seemed…artificial. No real life could be perceived to lie behind those eyes, only the driving will of an uncompromising master. As he was supercharged, he also drew out…not a hammer…but a baseball bat. Mauluigi now had one too, except his was thicker and heavier like a club. The Lario Bros charged forward, one of them invincible.

The bats were met by two Ultra Hammers, wielded by the stars of the Mushroom Kingdom. The Babies had disembarked from their older selves' backs and were now hobbling away from the grown-up clash. Sneaking across the stone ground, they crawled furtively onto the top of the battlement underneath the unsuspecting Fawful. With an infantile cheer, they demonstrated surprisingly well-developed jumping skills (they would grow to become some of the greatest jumpers of all time, after all) by bouncing up and grabbing onto the Beanish Toady's red cloak. Upon recognizing his hitchhikers, Fawful was dragged down by the Babies' combined fifteen pounds of weight. He pulled back up and began flailing through the air, shouting, "Fink-rats! What stale, bitter morsels have penetrated the perfect creaminess of my ice cream sundae of revenge? Abandon your spoilage, tiny Red and Green, or risk being consumed by my silver spoon of pitiless wrath! I HAVE FURY!"

In the meantime, Metal Mario, for reasons unknown, did not join the brawl, but simply contented itself to watch the climactic conflict between the two pairs of brothers. Indeed, the clone's demeanor had undergone a sudden change, but it was not something the Smashers could stop to ponder at the moment.

Bat clashed against hammer. Bodies leapt, dodged, spun, and kicked. Lario proved to be physically weaker than both Mario and Luigi, but due to his slippery guile and elusive agility (not to mention the fact that he was glittering with invincibility), this one weakness was well made up for. And Mauluigi was another story entirely, being several times stronger than either of the Mario Bros. Teamwork played a part in each pair's strategies as they used each other to compound the force of their attacks. Mario and Luigi did all they could to avoid Lario, knowing they couldn't harm him, and focused their combined efforts on Mauluigi. Several times they were able to knock him back, but never seemed to inflict any serious damage on the immense adversary. At one point they even began to use red and green fireballs; however, they had no effect on Lario, and Mauluigi looked like he would have felt more pain from a bug bite. In response to this change of tactic, Lario and Mauluigi retaliated with fireballs of their own, blue and brown to match their hats. The skills of both sides were so exemplary that for quite some time, little harm was inflicted.

But it was too late when Mario and Luigi finally caught on to the Lario Bros' real strategy. All this time, bit by bit, the two brothers had been pushed toward the edge of the fortress. Although it was guarded by the battlements, the crenels were low and wide enough that either one of them could potentially be pushed through it. Both of them tried to avoid being cornered, but there was no escape. The heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom braced themselves for the fall, closing their eyes.

And they weren't disappointed.

But instead of feeling the pain of the Lario Bros' baseball bats, they felt the bodies of Lario and Mauluigi themselves crashing upon them with crippling force. It wasn't until the four of them were all freefalling that Mario and Luigi had a chance to look back up at the shrinking battlements and see the glinting head of Metal Mario peering over the edge. As they fell, the reality of their situation unable to catch up with their ability to realize it, somewhere in their minds it registered that the metal clone must have pushed _all four_ of them over the edge. Why? Again, they were in no position to think up theories.

What could have been an awe-inspiring aerial fight turned out to be just a pathetic tumble down the side of the fortress, Mario and Luigi screaming while the other two were silent.

Suddenly, a huge pink beam sped toward them from the broken computer monitor. Despite the Bounty Hunters distracting it, Mother Brain was still as dangerous as ever, for every missed shot continued far beyond into a chance target. And one of the four freefallers were nailed by this pink beam, the force of which pushed him all the way across the room, so far away he could only be seen as a minuscule speck in the distance. The fact that Lario didn't disintegrate, however, proved that the Superstar was still in effect.

Mario and Luigi looked around and realized that somehow they were the only ones still falling. Luigi gulped and looked at his brother. "This is it, Bro…"

Mario managed a small smile beneath his mustache. "Goodbye, Luigi." The two brothers clung onto each other and, closing their eyes once more, awaited their end.

But instead of the hard, unforgiving tabletop they'd expected to land on, the world around them was suddenly enveloped in purple darkness for a surreal moment, and an unearthly chill crawled up their necks. As soon as they arrived in the dark place, they heard a strange but familiar sound like the sound a drinking straw makes when moved up and down a lid, except much smoother and more musical. Then, suddenly, they were standing on stone, and the light seemed to have returned from beyond their closed eyelids. Perplexed, Mario and Luigi slowly opened their eyes, still hugging one another for dear life, and found themselves in what seemed the least likely of all places: back on the roof of the fortress.

On the ground was Fawful, shouting out random metaphorical phrases about revenge and pain, lying on his back while Baby Mario and Baby Luigi laughed and giggled as they took turns smacking him with their hammers like a Whack-a-Mole. Metal Mario had mysteriously vanished from the rooftop, but soon after the Mario Bros had stabilized themselves on the much-appreciated solid ground, three dark purple figures rose from beneath the stone surface. The Shadow Sirens grinned at them, Vivian staring at Mario dreamily with a finger on her lips like a little girl.

Beldam broke the silence. "Heh…looks like you almost took quite the nasty fall, didn't you, Mario?"

Marilyn offered some input. "Guuuuhhh!"

Vivian slunk shyly toward Mario like a shadow, holding her wrist, and stopped a few feet away. "Mario! It's…um…I mean, it's wonderful to see you again. It was a good thing we came here at this exact time, isn't it? I'm so glad you're safe, Mario…and you too, Luigi," she added as an afterthought, not wanting to sound like she was singling the red plumber out. Luigi just nodded, used to being the afterthought.

Before Mario could say anything, however, they heard a grinding, scraping sound from below the wall they'd just fallen over. Leaving the Babies to their Fawful-smashing game, the five of them hurried over to the edge and glanced over the side. They jumped backwards almost immediately, for they'd beheld a scene similar to but even more frightening than King Kong.

Mauluigi, hat missing and face sweating drops of pure anger, was digging his fingers and feet into the wall of the fortress, clinging onto it like a leech, and climbing up with terrifying ease and speed. His enormous muscles bulged, and at the sight of them, he let out a roar of both mourning for his brother and a vow of vengeance. Not long had they backed away before one platter-sized hand followed by another gripped the battlements and pulled their furious, crazed host over the side. Mauluigi's size 20 shoes crashed onto the rooftop, and the bulky enemy twisted one fist in the palm of his other gloved hand, ready to smash some heads.

At the same time, Fawful, apparently feigning unconsciousness, threw both Babies off of him with a wild yell and jetpacked back into the air, ready to unleash every last bit of fury he had left in his being—which was a lot.

"This isn't over just a-yet," Mario said grimly.

* * *

Lario sailed through the open space of Master Hand's room, several hundred feet above the ground, and yet perfectly calm as he began to tilt down in the direction of the giant trash can. For he knew as long as he had the power of the Superstar to serve him, he was invincible; nothing could hurt him, not even an attack from Mother Brain or a fall like this. He descended faster and faster, his brown hat whipping off to his great annoyance, and suddenly landed on his feet—unstably, but firmly.

But he soon noticed that something was quite wrong. For he had stopped falling sooner than he had expected, and could see a red-haired swordsman 65 feet below staring up at him. He looked down.

In a very Captain Hook-like position, Lario's slim legs were spread apart about two feet, each on the upper and lower jaw of Kraid. The creature's mouth was tilted upward, appearing as if it had tried to catch Lario in his mouth on the fly, completely ignoring the bounty hunter and swordsman trying to slaughter it. But the skinny, half-mustachioed minion of Master Hand was still glowing and sparkling with the energy of the Superstar, and his footing, while precarious, seemed to be doing well in holding Kraid's mouth in place. It pawed up at him with its long, razor-sharp claws, but its arms were too short to reach him.

Lario laughed gaily. "My apologies, distinguished monster, but I'm afraid I am neither fit nor capable of being consumed right now, as it were. As long as I am basking in this effulgent glow of golden puissance, no creature of the acidic depths nor hero of nobility can harm me! So I'll thank you kindly to put me down gently or else risk having your internal organs rearranged."

That, of course, was when the Superstar's energy ran out. Lario was suddenly nothing more or less than Lario, and Kraid noticed it with a ravenous look in its eyes. Lario had not done his homework on the function of Stars in the world of _Super Mario Bros._

Lario looked down at himself, all of a sudden feeling a lot less confident. "Oh, buggar…." With a crocodile-like plunge, Kraid snapped its gaping mouth clear around the Italian with a British accent and swallowed him whole. It then proceeded to pat its stomach with carnivorous satisfaction, and burped so loudly that a huge rush of wind pushed several flying aircrafts out of control, even sending a Space Pirate toppling over the edge of the table, screaming.

* * *

" _Panther, what are you doing?"_

Wolf and Leon barrel-rolled out of the way as the Black Rose, a sickly bluish-purple, came charging at its own teammates. The cover of the cockpit was shrouded in black and purple so they couldn't see Panther Caruso inside. It fired blue lasers—not at the enemy Space Pirates, but at the other two members of Team Star Wolf, who just barely dodged them. Finally, it stopped in the air and allowed Wolf and Leon to turn around and face it.

A voice finally came over their speakers; but it was not the Panther they knew. His voice was there, but it was overlapped by another one—slow, deep, and distorted. "Obey…must obey…Wolf O'Donnell and Leon Powalski, you must surrender….There is no hope….We will dominate all inferior life forms on this planet….The great being, Master Hand, has revived us to fulfill his purposes….Do not resist...Your bodies will be spared and only your minds destroyed if you give up….Otherwise, your Smash Brothers will be annihilated without mercy…."

But then, the voice changed. The overlapping layer of the voice was gone, and it sounded more like the Panther they knew. But it was faint; very faint. "Wolf…Leon…I…have failed you all….It took me…please…have mercy…destroy me…before I…"

Wolf stared at his teammate in disbelief. Ever since Panther's Black Rose had tilted slightly before they entered the Room, something had been wrong with the black cat. Then he realized what must have happened: The tilting; Panther's strange behavior; the discolored Wolfen; it explained everything.

Unbeknownst to them, there must have been one last Aparoid left back in the Battlefields that landed discreetly onto the Black Rose. Before it had been thrown off, it must have corrupted enough of the ship to also entrap Panther with its mind-devouring parasitic force. And now, the Aparoid had seized control of the entire craft, along with the pilot inside it.

But Wolf wouldn't give in. "Graaaaaargh! We'll never submit to you, space scum! Panther, we can get you out of there. Just hold tight. McCloud and his team rescued General Pepper from the Aparoids' control, and it's no different with you!" The canine began to think of how to get Panther out of that Wolfen.

"It's…too late, comrade." Panther's voice was so soft that it wasn't much more than a purr. "Look at me…." At these words, the hatch on the Black Rose opened. The cockpit was completely enveloped in the gooey, reddish-purple Aparoid substance. The only visible parts of its pilot were the arms and feline head. And even those parts were being sucked at greedily by the throbbing mass of goo. "I…am finished….Destroy me….Make sure Krystal is safe…" The black-furred face smiled grimly as it disappeared into the parasitic substance.

 _"Panther, NO!"_ Wolf accelerated his Wolfen toward the hovering Black Rose. But it suddenly snapped into motion and fired two thick shots that blasted off both of Wolf's wings, making it difficult for him to even remain airborne. "I won't attack a teammate—even in your state, Panther!"

Leon's voice came over his speaker as Wolf struggled to keep the Wolfen aloft. For the first time in living memory, the chameleon's voice was no longer snide. Just completely, uncharacteristically serious. "Wolf, you must destroy it. Panther is gone. Remember the advice you once gave McCloud…"

Wolf did remember it. Way back when the Aparoids still terrorized the Lylat System in large numbers, he had come to Fox's aid in Corneria. As he'd left, Wolf clearly remembered what he'd told his rival.

 _"A word of advice, Fox. When the time comes, don't hesitate. Just act."_

But he couldn't do it. After all the Star Wolf Team had been through, he couldn't live his own advice. Panther had become like a brother to him, like Leon (Andrew Oikonny and Pigma Dengar never did develop a very good relationship with him). Even if his friend's mind was gone, he would rather be destroyed by him than destroy.

He didn't move as the Black Rose closed in to finish him off. He closed his eyes, content to join his fallen companion….

"Fine, then. I'll do it." A fully charged shot blasted from Leon's Wolfen, the Rainbow Delta, and collided with the Black Rose. It exploded with what seemed like a shrill screech that died away with the last of the Aparoids, echoing not only through Master Hand's Room, but throughout the Battlefields as well. Leon's ship caught the critically damaged Wolfen from beneath and began to fly toward an empty shelf.

"Let's get you to safety, Wolf."

Wolf said nothing.

* * *

Tails, Knuckles, and Amy rushed into the dark room filled with Professor U. Reeka's seemingly useless junk. "Shadow!" Amy called. "We're here to help!" In the end, even the three of them had decided that despite their extreme weariness, they ought to pitch in whatever help they could offer.

In the center of the piles of technological equipment, Metal Samus was holding up a struggling Ness with its literally iron grip. It pointed its glowing arm cannon at the boy's head and prepared to fire.

A large chunk of stone, torn from the ground by Knuckles, smashed Metal Samus into a pile of broken machinery behind it, forcing the clone to relinquish its hold on Ness's shirt. Sonic's friends hurried up to Ness. Amy put a comforting arm around him. "Are you alright, kid? Where's Shadow?"

But Ness just shook his head, on the verge of tears, and pointed to a smoking black mass behind him.

The newcomers' eyes widened in disbelief, but they had no time to question Ness further before the huge boulder Knuckles had thrown shifted, and then was thrown clean off as Metal Samus stood once more, its sleek helmet visor shining.

* * *

The Marios and Luigis ran in circles inside the battlements, jumping to dodge the laser pellets being fired at them by the rampaging Fawful. In between the two adult heroes, Mauluigi was also forced to flee from the spinning blue lasers, but it was by no means a friendly sprint. Mario kept pushing against Mauluigi in an attempt to knock him back into the line of fire, while the Babies reached out of their piggyback positions to smack Mauluigi's rock-hard muscles with their hammers. The bulky figure, however, seemed too busy running (his legs the thickness of a medium-sized tree trunk) to pay any heed to these feeble attempts. The Shadow Sirens, meanwhile, were hurling streams of purple flames from the center at Fawful, who seemed to have little trouble dodging these. Whenever he bothered to fire a few lasers at them, the Shadow Sirens quickly disappeared into the ground until the coast was clear. This pattern continued for at least a full minute and a half.

But Mauluigi, although one who could bench-press 600 pounds, was no long-distance runner. Sweating like a pig, he finally became fed up with this fruitless cycle. With just one of what felt to him the lightest of pushes, he shoved Luigi hard into the battlement wall, knocking him and Baby Luigi out cold.

"Luigi!" Mario cried. He made to stop and turn around to rush to the aid of his brother, but as a result, a blue laser scorched the ground not three inches away from his toes. He was forced to resume the pursuit. The Shadow Sirens continued firing jets of purple flames up at their enemy, but to no avail.

However, as Mauluigi acted impulsively, he'd let down his guard. Fawful, cackling all the while, took advantage of this and knocked the mauler down with a single laser pellet. Mario and Baby Mario stopped and watched in absolute horror as the evil bean fell upon his prey with a ceaseless, pitiless barrage of lasers. The blue beams fell in such rapid succession that Mauluigi could not even be seen amidst the blur of small explosions. Fawful ceased fire, revealing a groaning, immobile Mauluigi lying on his back. But the airborne maniac wasn't finished.

"Ha ha ha! Feel the fullness of my indiscriminate wrath, foolish man of muscles!" From the mouth-like nozzle attached to Fawful's helmet came an ominous green glow. Then, as it finished charging, the former sidekick of Cackletta unleashed a massive green laser upon Mauluigi, completely consuming Master Hand's strange creation in the pulsing energy. The wide beam blazed on for several long, dreadful seconds, flashing before the Marios' and Shadow Sirens' eyes, and finally narrowed and finished, leaving billows of black smoke and a large scorch mark on the rooftop.

And nothing else.

Mauluigi was destroyed. The Lario Bros were no more.

"Mama mía…" While normally, this would have worked in the heroes' favor, it seemed insignificant due to the looming feeling that their turn had come to face the same end. Mario was both terrified by Fawful's newfound power and sickened by the twisted pleasure with which their enemy had done it.

Fawful turned to Mario and Baby Mario. "Now…Red…tiny Red…your turn! May your dauntless persistence irk me nevermore! Ha ha ha ha ha!" His weapon glowed a dangerous green once more, and before the Marios fully realized what was happening, the Green Death (as Fawful affectionately called it) was coming their way. Again, they felt the end of their existence approaching as rapidly as this final blast. But just when they were about to die the same way as Mauluigi, a slender shadow dived in front of the surging green light, bringing with it a wall of purple flames, and somehow took it all in. Fawful's attack dissipated, and the wall of flames vanished as the shadow crumpled onto the ground, still wearing its red-and-white-striped witch's hat.

"Oh no!" Mario ran and knelt beside the limp form of Vivian, which was barely breathing. "Vivian!" Baby Mario tried to quench his fright by sucking his thumb, but with no success, and he began bawling loudly.

The rosy cheeks were deathly pale, but she still had a cute, faint smile as she reached up and gently grasped Mario's hand. The softness of her voice only made it all the sweeter. "Mario…I…love…" And that was the end.

Mario, Beldam, and Marilyn were silent as up above, Fawful, with his emotionless indifference, decided on a new strategy. "Well," he said smugly with the widest possible grin displaying his cheesy, malicious teeth, "I _could_ simply let you Fink-Rats die for each other, one by one, but what fun would that be? How much more tortuously agonizing will it be to you unintelligent cockroaches when I extirpate Red's partner in crime, Green, _first!"_ Fawful cackled again, and began charging another dose of Green Death—but this time, he turned and pointed it at the unconscious Luigis.

Mario and the others, shocked and grieved, simply had no will left to fight, even at the peril of the Luigis' lives. They watched despondently as Luigi and Baby Luigi were about to become the next casualties in this war, like the many before them.

A blurred figure suddenly rose above the battlements in a gravity-defying leap, raised a long, glinting sword, and stabbed it squarely through the green bean. It then slashed at the helmet jetpack, breaking it in two. Fawful's eyes froze in their thirst for vengeance, and suddenly went blank, although the mouth was still stretched in a haunting smile. Fawful collapsed onto the roof, his face scarier than any evil clown one could imagine.

Marth landed roughly onto the scorched stone (almost the entire rooftop had been scorched by _something_ by this point) and sheathed his sword. He turned to Mario with an air of grim nobility. "That was close, my friend."

But before anyone could further contemplate all that had just happened, a great rumbling occurred. By great, it is meant that the entirety of Master Hand's Room, the Battlefields, and all the regions throughout the Nintendo World were shaking violently. As evening set, the purple in the skies deepened unnaturally, and clouds spread apart into nothingness, revealing a sort of violet galactic view. A great sense dreadful suspense gripped thousands of souls throughout the land. All could tell that something momentous was about to happen.

The Battlefields continued to throb with the clamor of battle, for the Wire Frames had no mind to fear with. The Smash Brothers pressed on, unable to ignore the change in atmosphere but having no other choice than to keep fighting. King Dedede and his troops halted in their cowardly tracks and looked above them, sensing there was no escaping what fate had in store for them.

Back inside the Room on the other hand, all fighting suddenly desisted because of the disturbing earthquake. Even the Space Pirates stopped their rampage, fearing their master above everything else. For several minutes, all that could be heard was the tremendous rumbling—and then it abruptly ceased. Complete silence reigned throughout the expansive room; not a single sword was lifted, nor a single gun fired. This silence sent a creeping chill up the spines of every occupant of that room, instilling indescribable trepidation within each and every living being present.

Two giant white hands descended dramatically through the ceiling of their room, ever flexing their fingers. Master Hand and Crazy Hand slowly descended, together, to where they were in plain view and everyone could see them.

A deep, resounding voice: "IT…IS TIME."

Master Hand released the magnificent, colorful ball he'd been holding, which started floating around within his reach. He then crushed the Smash Ball by making a sudden fist around it. An equally resonant laugh, joined by the familiar cackle of Crazy Hand, came from the enormous white glove as he activated the first ever…Final Smash.


	29. Chapter 22: Final Destination—Part I

Chapter 22: Final Destination—Part 1

* * *

 **UPDATE:** I finally found a way to direct readers to my map of the Nintendo World, which can be quite helpful in keeping all of the various groups and geographic locations straight. All you have to do is search "Nintendo Map Revised" on Photobucket or Google and find it under the user Bob_Snicket.

* * *

 **M** aster Hand's outline glowed with a magnificent yellow light. The eyes of the entire world all seemed to fix upon his empowered figure. There was no time to wonder about what would happen next. But in an instant that blew away the minds all those who witnessed it, the two Hands vanished from the air, both of their laughs echoing in their wake.

Less noticeable but equally significant, a specific number of other beings disappeared as well. Mario and Luigi vanished from the rooftop, leaving the Babies with Marilyn and Beldam. The swordsmen Marth and Roy were there one moment and completely gone the next (Roy in the very act of his final stab into Kraid's heart, leaving it fatally ruptured). Fox and Falco abruptly left Slippy and Krystal's side. Ness and the Ice Climbers dissolved into nothing from inside Master Hand's Fortress along with the four trophies on the third floor. Back in the Battlefields there were similar such cases. Link, Zelda, Young Link, Ganondorf, Dr. Mario, Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Kirby, and Mr. Game & Watch: all of them faded away from wherever they were positioned, in whatever condition they were in. Just like that, all of these individuals became absent from the world.

The Original 25 and the two Hands were gone.

After a moment, the battle resumed without them, the Smash Brothers realizing all they could do now was endure to the end. But the end was in fate's hands now.

* * *

Nothing could be seen but the glowing, shimmering Smash Ball amidst complete darkness. It moved slowly about, as if testing the limits of its new locale. Then, all of a sudden, it burst into a rainbow of colors, the shards flying outward like glass. They flew further and further away, and then drew to a spinning halt. Slowly, the glinting shards began spinning again, only this time they converged toward one another. Faster and faster they approached, accelerating more quickly than the description provided by these words, and with a burst of contorted light, they shot to the center and formed a surging sphere of black energy. The black sphere was unique in the sense that even though it was black in color, it was not an empty blackness, but a saturated one, and the light shining around its perfect roundness was as white (or whiter) than any light bulb or star. Once this center was established, everything else appeared around it, chasing away the _empty_ darkness.

There was a single large, floating platform in the midst of nonsensical, ever-changing, location-less surroundings. Random yet intricate designs spun and wove together all around, giving it the combined feelings of a black hole and hyperspeed. The platform's surface was octagonal in shape, and what appeared to be smooth, dark metal. It was bordered by lines of bright magenta which seemed to light up the stage. Underneath this surface hovered the black ball of awesome energy; it was around this that everything else seemed to be centered. Flat blue rectangles, bordered with orange and tilted away from the sphere, rotated around it in fixed orbits, perfectly controlled and unalterable.

It was in this environment that the Original 25 appeared. However, after attempting to take in their ever-moving surroundings, they noticed that great changes had taken place in some of their fellow Smashers. All who had been in perfect health before were still the same as before, but those who hadn't been were changed. They were all restored of any wounds, bruises, broken bones, or other injuries they'd sustained. Even their energy was at its fullest once more, every sign of weariness gone.

Pikachu, Princess Peach, Samus, and Captain Falcon, who had been confined to their trophy stands for such a long time, were fully animated as they should be. Pikachu's cheeks sparked, his tail flicked back and forth, and his ears wiggled as he tested the newly restored control over his body. Peach rubbed her eyes, a bit woozy, but then straightened out, took out her umbrella to start twirling it, and gazed out at their surroundings. Samus Aran tested the functionality of her long-dormant Power Suit, which was fortunately still in perfect condition. Captain Falcon stretched his muscles, flexed to see that his well-defined abs and biceps still existed, and peered out of his helmet at the mind-boggling view.

Mario and Luigi bounced on their feet in boxer-like fighting stances, stretching their necks in circular motions and waiting with determination for their enemy to appear. Dr. Mario subconsciously tossed a spinning Megavitamin in front of him, catching it without looking. Yoshi narrowed his large eyes at the ever-changing sky, no longer tired from his duel with Metal Yoshi. Bowser, completely healed of Metal Bowser's gashes, breathed out deep, hot breaths of air that were over 150 degrees Fahrenheit, waiting like a hungry beast (which, essentially, he was). Donkey Kong beat his fists absent-mindedly on the metal surface; the rhythmic pounding calmed his nerves.

Link stood by Zelda with Young Link on his other side, all three of them no longer shaken by the tragedies of the past, and ready to change the future. Ganondorf stood a few feet behind them, arms folded, holding in his dark power with barely contained bloodlust. Marth held up his sword with elegance, prepared to defend his lands and those of his friends. Roy, seeing Marth's actions, followed suit with equal courage.

Pichu, no longer suffering from his headache, was a bit frightened by the change of environment, but like his evolved form, his cheeks sparked with indignance at the thought of all the damage Master Hand had already done. Jigglypuff, still resting obliviously, finally awoke and gave a puff of surprise at the swirling designs. Mewtwo's deep purple eyes flashed, trying to foresee what was in store for them. His arms were folded defiantly, but even the mightiest of Psychic Pokémon was not overconfident at this point.

Fox checked his communicator, but learned that all sources of outward communication were nonfunctional here in this strange destination. Falco smiled almost cockily, prepared for anything these Hands could throw at him. Ness twirled his yo-yo in an Around the World maneuver, then adjusted his cap in a gesture of childlike bravery. The two Ice Climbers gripped each others' mittens firmly, intent on facing Master Hand together. Kirby just stared with blank innocence at the swirling sky.

Finally, Master Hand and Crazy Hand faded into being above them over the edge of the platform. Their laughter resonated for what seemed like an eternity until the two giant hands were finally finished relishing…well, whatever it was they were relishing. A foreboding silence fell, and the background suddenly changed from currents of activity to a still, far-reaching space vista with streaks of purple, red, blue, and black.

Master Hand's loud voice was unmistakable. "Mwa he hoo hey ha! The time has come, Smashers, for you to face your real challenge. I am well pleased and commend each and every one of you for managing to come this far. From the labors and risks of traveling from your distant homes, to surviving Fourside City, to getting past my innumerable armies and into my domain…I must admit at times I had doubted whether you would pass my tests. But my trust in your strength and courage has proven true, and now, before we end this, I shall divulge the full extent of my plans as reward for your efforts."

Master Hand, unable to really use body language to emphasize what he was saying, simply remained above them, facing them all with what everyone could tell, even without a face, was triumph. "From the very beginning, I knew you, the Original 25, would be my greatest threat. Though it has always been my deepest ambition to conquer and reign over This World, I knew I wouldn't be able to simply take everything over, and let that be that. Because I, who have lived in This World from the beginning of its time, could see that in each of your homelands, the heroes residing there would do anything to protect them, even put their lives on the line. And the lands themselves have been bestowed with ancient magics which united could, until recently, overthrow even me. So I, the Master of the Nintendo World, spent ages devising the perfect plan to both gain control of the various regions of This World and render powerless the magics and heroes that guarded them. Even you surely know many pieces of my plan by now, but I will describe it explicitly to make it clear for all."

"After the end of the Copyright Wars, when it was clear the Nintendo World would be left to its own, I began to make my preparations for world domination. My brother and I considered for a long time which of these resident heroes and even villains were most deserving and had proven most worthy to be included in our tournaments. I finally settled on twelve choice individuals to test out my idea. It was an immediate success.

"The concept of Nintendo's greatest fighters congregating to duke it out was an unprecedented, innovative notion that attracted thousands upon thousands of viewers. The Smash Tournaments became so popular that it soon seemed to be almost a kind of sport—no, a kind of _lifestyle_ for some of these fans. Occasionally, I even challenged one of the victors myself for sport.

"And so, not so long ago, I announced that the Smashers from throughout the Nintendo Universe would gather once more—only this time, things were different. More were invited; more challenges would present themselves; my brother would make an appearance; and, most importantly, I would get what I truly wanted from it: your DNA.

"After I recruited Professor U. Reeka into my service, he played a key role in bringing to pass my vision. The later Smash Tournaments fulfilled their primary purpose of extracting some source of identity from each of you, which was then turned over to Reeka, who mixed the extracts into his molten formulas. Finally, the character molds were used to create 25 of my most valuable servants, whose metallic advantage has already proven decisive when facing their real selves. It is true that only a few of these creations remain, but they also have served their purpose, which was in large part to get all of you here. With them leading my armies, I knew nothing—not even your precious Smash Brothers—could stop me from conquering the Nintendo World…except you.

"So I sent out my metal servants to capture a good number of you and bring them to me. It was important that every region was represented in my dungeons to draw the rest of you out. And as we've witnessed, my plan ultimately succeeded in bringing the remainder of the Original 25 to Fourside City who I had not already claimed. The escape attempts meant nothing to me, for I knew Mario and the rest would gather to Fourside, where I wanted most of you to be. And it also struck me as more… _theatrical_ …to allow it to happen. And then came the tournament.

"Everything went according to plan. I was most impressed not only by the performances of you Smashers, but of many who I hadn't yet considered for future Smash Tournaments. Thus, a pool of potential candidates was formed, and though not as many of you were captured as I'd hoped and the Star Spirits' intervention was admittedly unexpected, the seeds of war were planted. And your leader, Impa, was slain."

Most of the heroes twitched in anger at the mention of Impa's name. But now, Crazy Hand took up where Master Hand left off, the Smashers now realizing that, oddly enough, his voice was exactly the same, although less controlled. He laughed.

"Then…we waited. Especially with Zelda in our grasp, we knew the Smash Brothers would lobby to strike on our turf as soon as possible. We sent three of our top metal agents to upset your journey to the Dimension Conflux, which was sufficiently successful. With the Smash Ball and Superstar with us, the prophesied guarantee of victory for the wielder of all the Dimension Relics was no longer a threat to us. And so we made our final preparations for your arrival, including the implementation of Reeka's new ideas for the army. Master Hand called upon the rebellious forces of This World, dead or living, to fight alongside us and shatter your confidence.

"The battle began. We were enthralled by the intense action, the epic battles, even the crushing defeats of our armies. Indeed, we were quite impressed by the legion your Smash Brothers managed to string together, however pathetic it may be in comparison to our own. But still we waited, biding our time for the opportune moment to make our entrance. At last it came, when the Mario Bros stood victorious over Master Hand's personal creations, the Lario Bros."

Master Hand spoke again. "Thus you stand before us today, about to learn that all your efforts have accomplished no other purpose than our own amusement." He said no more, and the silence seemed to challenge the Smashers to respond.

Mario boldly called up to the Hands. "'Lario Bros'? Really, Master a-Hand? You claim to a-have the best ideas, and _that's_ the best idea you could come up a-with?"

"SILENCE!" Master Hand boomed, clearly offended. "I shall experiment with my creations as I please!"

"So. Let's get to it, Hands!" Captain Falcon balled his fist and clutched it in his other hand, cracking his knuckles. "What exactly did this 'Smash Ball,' as you call it, do? Maybe it's just me, all I can see it's done is restore a bunch of your enemies and bring them together to beat you up."

"Precisely," Master Hand said. "The Smash Ball is a power source from the future, one that grants a unique ability for whoever possesses it. It so happens that when _I_ make use of it, I get to do one thing— _set the rules_. And here are the rules, Smashers: five of you will face my brother and me at a time, one stock each. If you lose your stock, however, you will immediately transform into a trophy. If, together, you can defeat us, then you win. If all of you fail, then…well…you lose."

A murmur of unsettled voices rose from the Original 25; those who were eager for battle seemed satisfied by the conditions, but the less aggressive ones were more hesitant. Finally, however, Master Hand spoke over them all. "Good. Now, shall we begin…the end?"

Suddenly, everyone disappeared from Final Destination.

* * *

Master Hand and Crazy Hand appeared in a flurry of blue sparks over the edge on each side of the first stage. On the main platform of the Fountain of Dreams, liquid dreams flowed across the stage and over the side, descending into the atmosphere. The star-topped monument of the fountain itself glittered mystically in the center. The rainbow-swirling clouds glowed profusely like nightlights in the black night sky, reflecting beautifully off the clear dream water. The platform itself floated in the sky, giant oval gems embedded ornately around the goblet-shaped stone engraved with flowing swirl designs. This seemed like a place that was sacred, one that wasn't to be disturbed. But unfortunately, disturbed it was.

Materializing onto the stage along with the Hands was first Kirby, looking back and forth warily between his opponents, on the top platform. Next was Mr. Game & Watch almost blending in with the dark background with a natural camouflage below Kirby on the fountain's surface. The two princes Marth and Roy faded into view on the two opposite platforms held up only by the gushing dream water, prepared to fight to the bitter end. Finally, Popo and Nana appeared close to Game & Watch on either side, facing opposite directions while grasping each others' hands and holding out their hammers.

Marth glared up at Crazy Hand, who was nearest to him, and prepared to move. He blinked a couple times as the special contacts behind his eyes registered the name of his enemy in clear bold letters and his HP: 700. _Seven hundred,_ the swordsman marveled. _This may be even harder than we thought…._ Marth recalled the council meeting back in the business building of Fourside City when Professor E. Gadd had presented them each with the aforementioned ocular devices.

" _These," Gadd explained in his special meeting with the Original 25, "are Adversary Analyzers, version 1.0. I constructed them using a combination of chemicals and alloys from a Hero's Charm given me by the Rito Postman. Fascinating design, yes? Well, what these do when you wear them is tell you the name of your enemies and how much life energy they have remaining. Why necessary, you may ask? Because when facing a formidable opponent, most particularly Master Hand or Crazy Hand, it's good to know how much strength they have left so that you can formulate a strategy based on what you know in order to maximize the chances of success. I highly recommend you wear them throughout the battle tomorrow. Any questions?"_

 _At this point, most of the Original 25 needed no further encouragement before placing them onto their eyes and blinking them into place, their eyes watering slightly. But Mr. Game & Watch just stood there at a loss, raising his hand._

" _Er…how am_ I _sup-posed to wear these?"_

 _Gadd, taken by surprise, gave the flat fighter an apologetic look of concern. "Eh? Oh, I'm_ so _sorry, Mr. Game & Watch. I haven't yet devised a pair that fits your needs. I'm afraid you'll have to go without on this one."_

And so, Marth and the other four on the Fountain of Dreams (excluding Game & Watch) could see the high HP count of their two foes, but they were nevertheless set on inflicting all the damage they could. One moment, everything was relatively still besides the rush of dream water and colorful clouds; the next, the Smashers sprung into action.

Almost symmetrically, Marth and Roy both leapt toward the two hands and slashed sideways as they fell, coming into contact with the white gloves. The enemies surprisingly did not respond at all for the first few seconds, appearing to allow them a fool's chance. Kirby floated above Master Hand and then came down, kicking with his stubby red feet. Mr. Game & Watch jumped and whacked his turtle onto Crazy Hand's Fingers, and the Ice Climbers jabbed upward with their hammers into Master Hand's palm. The five Smashers landed back on the main platform, already breathing hard.

"What are their re-main-ing health ra-tios?" Game & Watch asked.

"Master Hand 675, Crazy Hand 680," Roy said, preparing for another attack.

The two Hands laughed. "Is that truly your best effort?" Master Hand boomed. "I suggest you watch the Master to see how it is done!" They landed on each edge of the platform on their index and middle fingers, and began walking on them toward the center. Their move was too fast for anyone to avoid; all six individuals were pushed together by the enormous fingers, and then when the Hands met, they drew back their index fingers and flicked everything in between. All of the Smashers were sent flying, and then tumbled back to the surface. However, mid-descent, Crazy Hand rose and flicked Nana off the stage.

"Nana!" Popo cried, rushing to the edge and reaching out his hand in an attempt to save his climbing partner. Nana threw out her cable as far as she could, but it just barely came up short. With a flash of white light, Nana was gone. The lone Ice Climber now turned back to the Hands, murder in his eyes. "You'll pay for that, Crazy Hand!"

Now Kirby, Game & Watch, and Marth went after Master Hand. Kirby swiped up and then back down with a Cutter Blade. Game & Watch pumped his black fire extinguisher above his head, and Marth jumped forward and went into a complicated series of jabs and slashes, dancing around the hand. But after his bout, Marth had drawn too close; Master Hand lashed out and grabbed the prince. He squeezed Marth several times, then flung the blue-haired swordsman off the edge of the Fountain of Dreams—so rapidly that he had no chance to recover. Marth disappeared with another white flash from below.

Popo faced Crazy Hand, eying the long, flexible fingers like deadly Kraken tentacles. Then the fierce climber moved in, striking at Crazy Hand and occasionally blocking the fingers with his hammer. He conjured from his mitten a burst of chilling ice that caused Crazy Hand to cry out in pain and temporarily draw back. But the Hand was not long hindered, and almost immediately afterward followed up by rushing forward and grasping Popo in an impossibly tight grip, prepared to chuck him off as Marth had been. However, at that moment, Roy, who had been waiting with his Binding Blade drawn back while Crazy Hand faced the other direction, chose that moment to unleash his Flare Blade and hacked across the white glove with considerable power. This time Crazy Hand let out a real scream, dropping Popo as his fingers flailed and shook apart, and then circling to confront the red-haired boy.

Meanwhile, Master Hand had moved to the side, slightly over the edge, and from each of his fingertips projected a blue laser beam; the slightest movement of any of his fingers would cause the corresponding beam to strike a completely different spot. The Hand manipulated his fingers, trying to hit Kirby and Mr. Game & Watch. Both of the said Smashers were jumping up and around the top and left platform, avoiding the five beams and flinging black sausages at Master Hand, many of which hit their mark (Kirby had quickly sucked in the cooperative Game & Watch, so now they both shared the same projectile power).

As the right fountain involuntarily descended, causing the platform it supported to join the ground level, Crazy Hand soared high above them and widened his palm as though he were about to spank a naughty child's bottom. Roy and Popo, directly below, employed different methods of protection as the Hand slapped down upon the Fountain of Dreams with great force. Popo dived to the side, dodging the attack altogether, while Roy used one of the special techniques he'd practiced with Marth. By posing in a certain way and holding his sword in a special stance at just the right moment, he was able to counter Crazy Hand's ground slap and inflict damage himself while remaining unharmed. However, what he wasn't prepared for, forgetting that the hands never flinched, was the spontaneous, crazed writhing on the ground that followed his enemy's slap. Both him and Popo were flung into the air by Crazy Hand's flailing mass, and then smacked off the stage by the Hand's subsequent shooing motion almost to the point of no return. There seemed no escape from this rampage.

The five beams suddenly zoned in on one individual: Game & Watch. Caught off-guard, the 2-D fighter beeped disdainfully as he was shot into the sky, and disappeared among the stars with a twinkle in the distance. This left only Kirby to face Master Hand.

"So, Kirby; we seem to meet one another more often than anyone else. Tell me—now that your defeat is at hand, are you afraid?"

Kirby narrowed his eyes, pink once more after discarding Game & Watch's Copy Ability but no longer cute by any means, and said a single word at that moment which seemed completely irrelevant. "Hungry!"

" Ha! I—" Master Hand stopped mid-speech, perplexed. "…Eh?"

Kirby's frown turned into a frightening smile, and he repeated himself, this time with vehemence. "Hungry!" And the pink puffball proceeded to open his mouth wider than he thought he'd ever done before, and began sucking harder than a hole in a space shuttle. He inhaled faster and faster, his chops aching. Master Hand inched closer until the unthinkable happened: Kirby engulfed the giant glove, and swallowed with difficulty but also with great satisfaction, transforming into a true oddity among Copy Abilities.

Hand Kirby was exactly the same shape and size as Master Hand, save for the striking pink color, and the bizarrely placed face on the back of the hand. Master Hand reappeared where he had been before, temporarily stunned by the sheer strangeness of what had just happened. Hand Kirby turned around to where, to his dismay, Crazy Hand had just disposed of Roy by knocking him off the side of the fountain. With a cry, the pink hand unleashed a barrage of flaming missiles at Crazy Hand, which crashed into the unsuspecting enemy one after the other in rapid succession.

Popo, decidedly fed up with Crazy Hand, crouched below the three giant hands above him and rolled over to Master Hand, raising his hammer as if to challenge him. In another instance of quick succession, the Ice Climber placed Freezies on the watery ground and stroked them with his hammer like golf balls up at Master Hand in a way that was sure to irritate him. Sure enough, Master Hand's attention was drawn away from Hand Kirby to the parka-clad Smasher below. The Hand lifted itself higher into the air, balled into a fist, and crashed onto the platform time after time, but missed every time. Popo rolled out of the way with each attempt, continuing to lob Freezies all the while.

Hand Kirby and Crazy Hand, meanwhile, were interlocked in a strange sort of wrestling match. Fingers twisted together, palms pushing tightly against one another, each trying to overpower the other. The biggest struggle was at the top, where the two thumbs fought for top placement. The thumb wrestling went on for a while, but Kirby, not as used to being a hand as Crazy Hand, was eventually overpowered. Crazy Hand slammed Kirby and himself onto the ground with a sort of pile drive, generating a large splash of dream water. Kirby reverted to his normal puffball state, the Copy Ability disappearing as a bouncing star over the edge. He was down, but not out, for he took the opportunity to smash his hammer onto Crazy Hand's pinky with gusto.

Popo put up a valiant effort, but at last, growing tired, he faltered in his movement, and was smashed by Master Hand, who then proceeded to sweep him off the edge, and Popo was unable to recover without his partner. Master Hand then turned to Crazy Hand who was struggling against Kirby's hammer skills, and in a flash pinched the Star Warrior between his thumb and index finger like a discolored grape, contemplating whether or not to squash it. But Kirby was very tired and ceased to struggle, dazed.

"Perhaps someday, you will know what we truly are, Kirby…but for now, you fail…." Crazy Hand followed up this last remark by flicking Kirby off the side of the gushing Fountain of Dreams with the same distaste of a pink booger. With a final flash, the five Smashers were gone.

The scene faded into darkness once more, Master Hand laughing.

MASTER HAND: 625 CRAZY HAND: 605

* * *

The giant Squirtle float took center stage in the striking red and orange skies of Saffron City, wispy clouds streaking by in the background, the city barely visible below through the lower clouds. Throughout the urban area a great festival was being held to honor the procession of the Smash Brothers into the realm of the Enemy. All of the balloonists and aeronauts around had brought their biggest inflated Pokémon, which together formed a massive flotilla of balloons that had never before been seen within the city. The giant representations of many of these famous creatures hovered at great heights of hundreds of feet—although there were so many that varying layers of balloons hovering at different elevations had been formed. The shiny, rubbery surfaces, colored so diversely as to make Ho-oh's rainbow feathers a mere black-and-white palette in comparison, shone off the sun's orange light, generating a dazzling contrast of bright reflections from nearly any perspective. It was ironic, then, when the two villains whom the denizens of Saffron had been denouncing appeared amidst their own merrymaking, even though none (or very few) of the residents were able to notice it at first.

Above either side of a gigantic Squirtle float materialized the Hands named Crazy and Master. This time, an altogether different set of Smashers appeared to challenge them. Upon the Squirtle's massive head were placed Pichu, Jigglypuff, and Mewtwo, three-fourths of the Pokémon representation in the Original 25. Pichu, although small in stature, may as well have been several times his size with the fortitude in his shining eyes. Jigglypuff, the true princess of all puffs, looked more ferocious than all the times she'd sung and discovered everyone to have fallen asleep combined. And Mewtwo, hovering between the two, had his pale, organically stretched arms folded sagely as his keen eyes were focused unwaveringly on Master Hand. On Squirtle's upraised right arm (so on the left side from an outside perspective), Ness materialized into being, adjusting his red cap and pointing both hands at Crazy Hand after playing with blue sparks glowing on his fingertips and drawing them back in a fighting stance. Lastly, the space on the other inflated blue arm was filled by Yoshi, who at the moment had narrowed his big elliptical eyes and fixed them on his bleached opponent in preparation for the most important boss fight he would ever take on.

A brief moment of silence passed as the sweeping winds associated with their high elevation flurried around them, ruffling clothes and ears and slowly shifting the giant balloon they resided on. Then it began.

Right from the start, Yoshi launched a bombardment of eggs from below, hurling each one at Crazy Hand. Mewtwo, being nearly level with the insane deity figure, contributed by flinging oscillating Shadow Balls of varying size at the same enemy. Each projectile, if it collided with Crazy Hand, shattered sharply when it was an egg and afflicted his entire figure with purple energy when it was a Shadow Ball. Crazy Hand laughed and showed that he was willing to play their game. He pointed his index and middle fingers forward with his thumb raised like a gun, and from the aforementioned appendages shot an onslaught of shiny bullet-shaped missiles with flames bursting from behind them. The missiles absorbed Yoshi's and Mewtwo's barrages in Crazy Hand's stead, canceling out both forces and bringing about a dynamic stalemate.

On the other side of the balloon, Ness delved into his PSI powers and sent a controlled PK Thunder to zigzag and snake around Master Hand to hopefully distract him. Jigglypuff and Pichu, seeing what Ness was trying to do, then jumped down and landed on Master Hand in a petit ambush, landing every kick, slap, Headbutt, and shock on their opponent that they could muster. Master Hand seemed not to notice the assailants at first, but then effortlessly rotated until he was upside down in a simple but effective motion. Now both the Pokémon had nothing to keep them from falling but the thick fingers they were holding onto; Jigglypuff released her hold and puffed back up to Squirtle's head while Pichu, closing his eyes and willing himself not to look down at the sea of clouds and distant city far below, let go and landed soundly on Ness cap, clinging to it like a lifeline.

Master Hand, undoubtedly amused by their endeavors, took it upon himself to demonstrate what they were up against by forming a fist above the boy and mouse Pokémon and bringing himself down onto the Squirtle's arm. Neither Ness nor Pichu had any chance of escape, and they cried out as they were smashed down with the arm. Pichu was pushed to the edge where he clung desperately onto the stubby rubber fingers, while Ness was crushed into the side of the blue head. However, since the air in the arm was deflated as Master Hand pressed it down, the concentrated hot air that was formerly within the arm was forced upward into the shell and then the head, causing it to abruptly inflate and send a bouncing jolt into Mewtwo, Yoshi, and Jigglypuff. Mewtwo, being a cat, did have claws deep within his lower paws, and the sudden tightening of the surface he stood on compelled his claws to puncture the balloon. In addition, Ness's baseball bat at his side was forced into the gap between Squirtle's arm and shell and created another hole.

The Squirtle float began to deflate and descend as it rapidly lost air, the loud noise of escaping air warning the Smashers of the crisis. Jigglypuff, determined to free Ness from being pushed completely into the balloon and doomed to go down with it, floated down surreptitiously behind Master Hand, came into direct contact with the white glove, and initiated one of her most fearsome moves: Rest. A roar of surprise came from Master Hand as he released pressure on Ness and spun around to face the sneaky puffball. Pichu was catapulted upward as the arm filled instantaneously with air and flung the yellow creature high above the other two toward the safety of the head. As he soared through the air with the wind whipping around him, the Pokémon thought to send a vertical Thunder bolt into Master Hand along the way.

Yoshi yelped during his flutter-jump up to the Squirtle head—which was necessary because the rest of the float was vanishing below their range of vision—as a few of the missiles burst into him during the process. He and Mewtwo observed as Crazy Hand discontinued the series of missiles and prepared to land a punch in their direction. However, the self-proclaimed god had to move out of the way of another float being blown into their view. It was lengthy and sloped like a snake, but bumpier, for it was a swollen semblance of Onix, a Rock-type Pokémon comprising a long chain of boulders. Yoshi and Mewtwo both exploited this opportunity by ascending—each in their own fashion—to the top of the Onix float. Crazy Hand, however, had merely to rise up through the air in order to face them again.

" _That's not fair,"_ Mewtwo thought publicly. _"We must beware our location while you and your counterpart need not pay it any heed."_

"That's the ingenuity of my brother's Final Smash, isn't it?" Crazy Hand laughed again. " _He_ makes the rules!"

 _I KNEW it was crucial for the Smash Ball to not fall into Master Hand's grasp…_ Mewtwo thought, now privately. This injustice infuriated Mewtwo. The genetically enhanced hormones made the human-sized cat Pokémon experience such rage that he uttered the first thing he'd said out loud for quite some time. "GrrrrrraaaaaAAAAHHHH!" Mewtwo cast himself recklessly into Crazy Hand, whipping his tail around, burning every conceivable surface with purple flames, and generating blinding shocks of candescent sparks all around him, further damaging the tyrannical hand.

But Crazy Hand acted through all of this dazzling confusion and squeezed the legendary Psychic Pokémon inhumanly tight. With a flick of the wrist, he made to throw Mewtwo off the float only to discover that his catch had Teleported out of his grip at the last moment. Mewtwo was next to Yoshi, giving several purrs of amusement. Crazy Hand, all self-control depleted or forgotten (not that this was a situation in which he would have used it), landed stiffly onto the Onix tail like a spider, and rushed forward with an animalic swiftness, pushing aside Yoshi and bowling into the unprepared Mewtwo. With Mewtwo forced on top of him, Crazy Hand then elevated himself indefinitely with the Pokémon collapsed on the back of his wrist until the Smasher was but a spinning figure in the distance that left the match with a helpless twinkle. The giant left hand convulsed in complacency as he descended back down.

"Yoshi!" protested Yoshi from below as if to say, "Now _that's_ not fair!"

In the meantime, Pichu had withdrawn himself from the dangerously low-inflated Squirtle float to the safety of Onix. Master Hand had also retreated upwards, but Jigglypuff was still asleep, and Ness found to his dismay that his iconic, trusty old baseball bat was stuck in the hole it had made in the material. He tugged on it several times, but could not force the other widened end back through.

"Come _on!_ " Ness exclaimed desperately. At length, he was finally able to use PK fire to melt away some of the rubber around it and pull the rest of his weapon through. The boy hollered at Jigglypuff to wake up, but she was still in her prolonged repose as a consequence of rescuing him. With no time to dawdle or deliberate any longer, Ness turned away regretfully, used his PSI powers to high-jump onto the head, and upon repeating the motion and finding he came up short, propelled himself onto the Onix behind Pichu with a precisely aimed PK Thunder. He looked down as Jigglypuff receded and with a splash of whiteness completed her dreamy sacrifice.

With the Squirtle float no longer present, the two Hands now combined forces by using open palms to push Yoshi, Pichu, and Ness into the center; following this, they both moved back numerous yards in each direction, and then came together in a deafening clap of the gods. But one clap wasn't enough; Master and Crazy Hand repeated this action several more times, causing severe harm among their victims. The Smashers were tossed to and fro in midair above the float until the succession of claps ceased and they collapsed onto the bumpy surface.

Although disoriented by the strike, it impassioned and aggravated them that they could allow their voluminous adversaries to toy with them so. Yoshi flutter-jumped above Master Hand, and as he came down, flutter-kicked hard and long without holding anything back, with the ferocity and grace of a dragon. His own kicking, incredibly, kept him aloft with its speed, allowing him to continue. The voracious dinosaur had to carefully avoid tangling his red boots in the Hand's fingers to prevent being tripped up or caught by their sudden motion; it was like an impromptu tap-dancing performance. Except on top of a dangerous villain. And thousands of feet above the ground.

Ness drew out his yellow yo-yo, established control over it by twirling it a couple of times around his finger, and then, remembering what he had seen on a television show back in Onett called _Wind Waker: Legends of an Ancient Hero_ , closed one eye while staring at Crazy Hand in order to clearly perceive his target and judge the distance and angle he needed. Then, confident about when to release, he increased the velocity of the yo-yo's twirling until it was a blur (he always triumphed in school competitions because he practiced for hours every day) and launched it toward the giant glove's constantly curling pinky. The circular end wrapped over the finger, wound about it several times, and then tightened, just like the grappling hook he'd seen on the cartoon.

With an adventurous holler, Ness ran left—the opposite direction of Crazy Hand—until the yo-yo's string length maxed out and tensed up. At this point, the momentum from Ness's running sent him into a dramatic human loop-de-loop that created a sensation of euphoria and slight nausea in Ness's head as he went upside down during his airborne semicircle toward Crazy Hand. The finger to which the yo-yo's string was tied smarted worse than when he'd pulled out his last baby tooth with a doorknob, but he knew this outlandish maneuver would be well worth his pain. As he finally came back around behind the hand, holding his dangling arm like a vine-swinger, Ness waited until just the right moment, and then, as the tip of his tennis shoe connected with his opponent, injected a sharp, concentrated surge of PSI energy into the impact, actually pushing Crazy Hand several yards away with the force of the impact. Biting off the tightened string near his finger so he wouldn't dangle like a puppet as a result, Ness landed smoothly back onto Onix.

"Thank you Saturday morning cartoons!" he said, sounding like a nerd.

But the boy gawped as he watched Crazy Hand's response. The belligerent extremity's cutoff point (where the wrist ceased and the glove ended) shot out a jet of rocket flames and smoke as it proceeded to execute a stunt similar to the one Ness had just performed, circling upside down and coming back toward him at an angle. Unfortunately, being the curious kid he was, Ness was left only to crane his neck upward as Crazy Hand passed above him and then came back around from behind with his second and third fingers extended in an aggressive poke. Ness careened across the Onix and disappeared in a white splash within a fraction of a second.

Master Hand, frustrated by Yoshi's continuous noogie, which he was unable to cast off or even move away from, bellowed in anger, calling his counterpart's attention. Crazy Hand, seeing his brother's distress, made to flick the dinosaur away. However, as he attempted to do so, a vertical bolt of jagged lightning struck down, causing him to draw back reflexively. Crazy Hand turned his gaze upward (perhaps with no tilting at all) to behold an unexpected spectacle. Pichu, who they had somehow forgotten, was leaping across a train of short, flat black floats resembling each of the 26 alphabetic variations of the Pokémon Unown. Some sort of wind current was directing them at a pace much faster than the Onix or any other float. And with each leap to the next symbol, Pichu summoned a strip of lightning to descend upon his intended target. Crazy Hand backed away from his brother, his attention now held by this aerial assault. His aggressive nature had made him instinctive enough to dodge each bolt of lightning, and in between dodges, he sent up another missile from his fingertips. From a certain perspective, this situation might have looked like some kind of arcade game.

During one of the intervals between missiles, Yoshi leapt off of Master Hand, caught the explosive projectile with his lengthy tongue, drew it into his mouth, and spit it back straight down at Crazy Hand, who took a hit. After doing all this in midair, he Ground Pounded the Hand, used the momentum to bounce back up, and flutter-jumped next to Pichu to join the Unown train. The Onix now fading below and to the left, the two Hands levitated upward in pursuit. Master Hand drilled skyward, knocking Pichu aside, and then came back down on Yoshi, pinching him against one of the Unown and spinning like a merciless drill. He did not release hold upon Yoshi until the Unown they occupied was too far away on the right and Yoshi could not recover before being enveloped in whiteness with another yelp.

Pichu had been swallowed up in Crazy Hand's fist like a Venus Flytrap, and cried out in despair as Crazy Hand prepared to chuck him down like a slam dunk.

Master Hand lowered himself beside his counterpart and laughed. "So ends Round Two! You know, I was rather disappointed by your performance, Pichu. Perhaps I shall not invite you to my _next_ tournament…"

Crazy Hand then tossed the Pokémon down, laughing with his brother. They were ready to move on.

Unexpectedly, though, Pichu did not vanish in a splash of white light. Instead, he landed on what appeared to be nonexistent solid ground—that is, until the pink float resembling the Pokémon Chansey rose fortuitously from below, supporting the surviving Smasher. Pichu stood up, enraged, and even for his tiny size, his demeanor approached intimidating.

"Pi Pichu Pi Pi- _CHU!_ " The pre-evolved mouse squealed firmly, being interpreted, "I may not defeat you. But my friends soon _will!_ " With that, Pichu unleashed an unprecedented burst of lightning which darkened the clouds of the entire sky and buffeted the two tyrants with huge amounts of lightning at least as thick as they'd been during the 7-on-7 Pokémon battle. Master and Crazy Hand appeared irritated, but not unduly worried as Pichu collapsed from exhaustion and rolled off the Chansey float into the void.


	30. Chapter 23: Final Destination—Part II(1)

Chapter 23: Final Destination—Part 2

* * *

 **M** ASTER HAND: 505 CRAZY HAND: 470

The same orange sky (now mixed with deep reds and bright violets) was in the background, but this time the clouds were actually above, which was somewhat of a relief. Although the next stage was still from a considerable height of between four and five stories high, it was much closer to the ground than the previous location. The site was a rooftop, but not just any rooftop; the highest battlements and spires of Hyrule Castle could not be mistaken with the gray stone surfaces blending in certain areas with dark green shingles the color of the mystical Lost Woods.

The ancient architecture was wide across, with two green spires on the elevated central area, one of them upon a tower that extended even farther upward. Another shorter spire was placed on an unreachable parapet below in the front, and on a lower roof to the right was yet another spire, except one could pass through a hollow arch running through it, and the top of it was flat as if the upper few feet of material had been sliced off like a cheese stalagmite. A few black windows dotted the otherwise plain stone outer walls. Extending up from the horizon and covering the setting sun, thereby casting a great shadow across much of the grassy land around the castle, was a tall range of mountains, Death Mountain being most prominent among them with its halo of dark smoke lingering above it. But there was something odd about this place.

Everything was beautiful from the construction of the castle to the environment, but it appeared as if it wasn't quite as beautiful, as _detailed_ , as it could, or should, be. The corners and ridges of the walls and mountains cut off too sharply, and the colors of the sunset didn't blend and blur together as smoothly; if one looked hard enough, individual pixels of color shades could be seen. This wasn't just Hyrule Castle; it was Hyrule Castle… _of the past_. Master Hand and Crazy Hand, who each appeared in their traditional positions on either end of the castle, had chosen the next battle to take place in the Dimension Conflux itself.

The Hero of Time, conqueror of the dark tower that had once stood on this very spot, faded into sight, descending from the blue-and-white light surrounding him. Link was placed at the top of the tower in the middle, and was given a spectacular view of old Hyrule that he was unable to enjoy due to the current predicament. He drew the Master Sword, now relying on fate and the strength of the Triforce of Courage to guide them to victory.

Directly below him, at the bottom of the tower, the same hero's younger incarnation materialized onto the castle top. Still energized with a youthful passion, Young Link drew the shorter but more wieldable Kokiri Sword. The green hats on both Links flapped in the high-altitude wind.

To Young Link's left, still on the elevated central rooftop, Princess Zelda spun into visibility, the green magic and yellow ribbon-like force of Farore's wind making her entrance light and graceful. However, the last of her own magical energy had been drained in the effort to revive the other Triforce holders, and the heir to the throne of Hyrule knew that in a bout against Master Hand and Crazy Hand, she would be of little use in her current state. She concentrated, and after delving into the last reserves of her royal endowments, glowed a brilliant white, her figure morphing and altering itself. When the light faded a matter of seconds later, she was no longer Zelda of Hyrule, but the mysterious Sheik, an inconvenient and confusing guise she had taken on during Hyrule's darkest age, yet at the same time much better suited for combat of almost any kind. Without knowing her true identity, it would be impossible to guess that the masculine figure with a wave of blonde hair and the red insignia of the Sheikah tribe emblazoned on the front of her muscular blue garments was one and the same as the elegant princess who was the daughter of King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule. Sheik appeared to grimace at Master Hand from beneath the cloth covering her mouth as she reached for her store of needle spikes.

His heavy leather boots plodding onto the green shingles to the left of the central stone surface, fingerless gloves gripped into tight, powerful fists, and eyes commanding an unnatural, opaque ruthlessness, Ganondorf took his place as the fourth contestant. His heavy, embroidered bronze cape flapped ferociously along with the green hats behind him as he directed his glare at the foe just a few yards above and before him, the one who had stolen his traditional role of mightiest tyrant in the land.

Which might not have been the truth, at least according to the beast who appeared on the opposite end of the stage, underneath and partly concealed by the green spire bending around him. Bowser, the equally power-hungry King of the Koopas, very much considered himself the ultimate tyrant of his world. The colossal, spiked, fire-breathing turtle was set on ensuring not only that no one was superior in power to himself, but that his world, his home, was protected from anyone who attempted to change or harm it, even if it meant going to the great lengths of teaming up with his enemies. Bowser roared toward Crazy Hand, bloodthirsty for the opportunity to avenge the death of his elite Hammer Bros battalion.

As before, there was a short period of glowering on the Smashers' part, the clouds rolling across the sky like cotton candy, followed by sudden simultaneous action.

Master Hand descended upon Ganondorf like a fell vulture, intent on snatching the man in his giant grasp. The Gerudo caught the hand's index and ring fingers with his long, muscular arms, and held them back with gritted teeth, determined to overpower him in a duel of might. His arms shook, and his legs quaked with the effort of withstanding Master Hand's immense strength.

Sheik flung a series of needles into Master Hand, several of them pricking the glove's fingers, but having no visible effect other than inflicting minor damage. Seeing Ganondorf's engagement, Sheik then turned to follow the Links toward Crazy Hand. Link jumped down from the top of the tower and dropped with a hard landing next to his younger self, and the three of them approached the tunneled spire.

Crazy Hand, becoming the likeness of a gyrating drill, drew back and then hurled himself toward the hulking Bowser under the spire. The warmongering counterpart was met by a heavy stream of blazing hot flames. While this did not cease Crazy Hand's charge, ending in Bowser being slammed into the stone wall between the central and rightmost areas, it scorched the Hand and lingered on him for several seconds afterward, causing his HP count to drop steadily. Bowser suffered little damage, being protected by his tough, spiky shell.

The Koopa King rolled over and clamored back to his feet. He lunged vengefully at Crazy Hand, who was still underneath the spire, and dug his sharp claws into the index finger, gripping it tightly. His fire deposit still in the regenerating process at the moment, Bowser bit down as hard as he could on the fingertip. Its texture and taste were strange: rubbery, but not fleshy and severable like he'd hoped. His shark-like teeth couldn't close down more than a few inches into the fingertip. However, Bowser had no time to ponder this phenomenon, for as the Koopa clawed and bit the finger, Crazy Hand screamed in fury and jabbed relentlessly forward, pushing Bowser backward and pinning him by his stomach against the wall. Bowser couldn't let out a single wisp of smoke or flames, let alone breathe; he gasped for air, unable to close his claws around the long, thick finger pinning him. Crazy Hand applied more and more pressure, choking and crushing the beast mercilessly.

Link and Young Link jumped as one and plunged their swords downward, striking Crazy Hand concurrently with their mismatched blades, which penetrated no further than Bowser's teeth before bouncing off and landing them on top of the hand himself. The heroes knew they had marred their enemy, however, because of the Adversary Analyzers in place against their pupils, showing a decline in Crazy Hand's Hit Points. Sheik leapt and landed a swift kick to Crazy Hand as she descended. After reverberating off, she touched down between the huge thumb and the index finger still pressed against Bowser.

Ganondorf and Master Hand struggled against one another, "hand in hand," one might say, or more literally, "hand in finger." The pressure buildup was so great that it felt comparable to the force being held in by two jammed tectonic plates pushing against each other at a fault line. The wielder of the Triforce of Power poured into his exertion every last drop of energy from not only his body, but the strength he possessed from the golden triangle glowing on his left hand. He was astounded, therefore, when he still couldn't prevail over Master Hand; no amount of physical force seemed to be able to subdue him. Ganondorf's eyes grew bloodshot, his muscles bulged with this unprecedented constriction, and he trembled even more than before from the strain of holding such a potent adversary in check. He would hold this position until he could take it no more and still survive, for nothing was more important to Ganondorf than proving his superiority over even the strongest Nintendonian antagonists. While the Gerudo was incredibly able to maintain this strenuous standstill, virtually any other human would have crumpled from a pinch of Master Hand's fingers. The setting sun shone between the two combatants in just the right spot and just the right angle, so it seemed almost as if this light was being generated by the epic struggle, although the two tilted forward and backward a little, shaking continually. It struck Ganondorf as ironic that this story would begin and end for him in the same way: wrestling.

Surrounded by challengers, Crazy Hand deemed the time appropriate to go off into a fit of thrashing. Banging on the ground and flicking his wrist and waving his fingers wildly, he sent the Smashers into flying disarray. Link and Young Link collided into each other along with the side of the green spire on the right. Sheik tumbled through the air, knocked about by the spasmodic hand. Bowser, too heavy to bounce very high, was flattened by Crazy Hand's weight repeatedly, unable to escape the hand deity's wrath. Their movement was akin to a group of astronauts ricocheting around inside a bouncy castle—without the cushion.

After a painful and very unpleasant segment of time in which this persisted, Link eventually managed to grab ahold of the flat top of the spire; his younger self clung onto his boot, inadvertently pulling him down. Using the strength embedded in his Golden Gauntlets, the Hero of Time lifted his body along with that of Young Link above and over the edge of the spire. The flat surface was so small, however, that they could not both stand upon it at once. So Young Link crawled across the top of the spire, gripped the opposite side, pulled himself down so he was hanging below the safer end, and let himself drop the seven or eight feet to the castle top beneath. Bowser climbed similarly onto the middle segment of the battlements, which Sheik collapsed upon soon afterward.

Link and Young Link followed up with a volley of arrows—flaming, freezing, or neither—against their opponent, hoping he wouldn't realize there was no one still trapped in his self-provoked tantrum. Sheik did the same with her needle spikes, while Bowser turned his back on them and observed Ganondorf's solitary endeavor against Master Hand. The bombardment was enough to cause their enemy to halt, however, and they prepared for Crazy Hand's retaliation.

"RAAAAAARGH!" Crazy Hand balled into a fist and began pounding on the spire like a rude solicitor upon a door, each hit carrying the force of a giant's footstep, shaking the entire castle. Link staggered at the edge and cried out as the spire tilted over and then fell, causing him to descend with it. The top of the spire protruded over the edge of the wall after crashing onto the surface. Link toppled over uncontrollably, bound for the ground hundreds of feet below but knowing he would vanish into a white void before reaching it. He blindly fired his Longshot—a longer form of Hookshot—behind him in the direction of the castle as he fell, and his heart skipped with relief as the Longshot connected securely with something.

Young Link had been made to dive forward in order to avoid being crushed by the spire, and turned his head to see Link's Longshot shoot above him and snag onto Crazy Hand. "Link! WAIT!"

But by the time the child was able to utter his warning, Link had already pressed the latch for the Longshot to pull him back to where it had attached, which was undoubtedly an unsafe destination. Link had scarcely the time to see where he was headed before Crazy Hand's fist jerked forward and plowed into him like a ping pong paddle, detaching the Longshot and sending him back in the other direction, only faster. Link wished he had done more to damage the two hands as he disappeared in a horizontal splash of white light, his consciousness joining the other ten (or eleven, counting both Ice Climbers) in the void.

Ganondorf, ignorant of all this, yelled in exasperation as he began to bend down before Master Hand, losing momentum in the duel of strength. He couldn't fail, not now, not to the one being he desired to overcome more than any other in the Nintendo World.

But in a couple of seconds, he was about to.

A beastly roar sounded from behind as King Bowser leapt down and strained against Master Hand alongside his fellow villain. The Koopa's strength, combined with what was left of Ganondorf's, was sufficient to turn the tables. Master Hand was pushed back, his palm turning upward until it had nearly been flipped over, being parallel with the ground. Bowser rammed his spiked shell underneath the hand's wrist and pushed it upward, striking Master Hand with his numerous spikes and two curved horns. Ganondorf simultaneously landed an uppercut laced with rippling purple energy into the palm.

Master Hand retreated over the edge, surprised to have been bested even in such a little thing as a wrestling contest. But although there were no facial features to show it (and thank goodness there weren't), the resident of the giant room was also amused and impressed by the competition. "Ah, what a coincidence…the Nintendo World's two fiercest villains, setting aside their differences and combining their efforts against a third, superior one. I shall be sure to note this occasion in the descriptions I create to accompany your trophies!"

"Eat Poison Shrooms, you oversized sanitary device!" bellowed Bowser.

Master Hand just laughed.

Ganondorf was ready to reengage. "Begone, you abomination. _We_ have a more fitting place in This World than you…and all we do is antagonize it. You claim to be a master of creation. Well, whoever created _you_ must have been some lunatical fool who merely wanted to add a useless character to plague our lands."

"Hm…" was Master Hand's only response before the reengagement.

In a monumental display that would be documented for ages to come as one of the most classic clashes of all the Nintendo World's history, the two Nintendo villains nodded to each other and set to work teaming up against Master Hand. There was no such thing as a light hit in this struggle; every second and every motion counted. Bowser and Ganondorf, although not the fastest of characters, did all they could to avoid Master Hand's assorted flicks, drills, slaps, smashes, and attempts to grab them. The pair of notorious kings then, when they could, combined their abilities in retaliation to Master Hand's assaults. In some cases, Bowser would release streams or short bursts of fire, while Ganondorf would find a satisfactory position from which to attack the preoccupied foe with kicks, punches, knee jabs, or even swings of his heavy sword, each being coated in purple energy and often accompanied by a furious yell. Other times, Ganondorf would initiate by shoving Master Hand during a temporary stall into the short wall between the green shingled area and the central platform, while Bowser would take advantage of this with a swipe of his sharp claws, a ram with his head, or a gravity-assisted Bowser Bomb from above. They clearly proved to be the Master Hand's most formidable challenge as of yet.

Master Hand at one point was back over the left edge of Hyrule Castle once more, and then Bowser, not being in a state of mind to think through his processes very thoroughly, did something incredibly daring but destined to have dire consequences for at least one side. Leaping from the ledge of the central battlements, the enlarged turtle defied the laws of physics once again by soaring skywards a number of feet, and then, flipping over so his tail and underside faced down, boldly executed a monstrous belly-flop, slamming down upon Master Hand with great force. Ganondorf watched in astonishment as the suicidal Bowser Bomb forced both Koopa and Hand into a swift descent along the ramparts of the castle, and both vanished below.

Ganondorf could not see enough down the wall to determine what happened, but there was a splash of whiteness. And as nothing happened for several moments afterward, the Gerudo began to believe that Master Hand had been vanquished along with Bowser, and that the sacrifice had single-handedly brought the hand god's reign to an end.

But alas, it was not to be so.

He heard the deep laugh before the actual reappearance; tightening his fists and gritting his teeth angrily, Ganondorf scowled with contempt and slight disappointment as the enormous hand reappeared, unharmed by the boundaries of the battlefield—unlike Bowser. It was another example of explicit injustice, Ganondorf thought: Master and Crazy Hand had only one means of being defeated, and that was through the depletion of their HP. The Smashers, on the other hand, could be defeated by simply being knocked off the top, bottom, left, _or_ right side of the stage. This was unacceptable. It called for vengeance—vengeance he was more than willing to exact. He drew his sword.

Young Link pulled back to join Sheik as Crazy Hand returned from his expulsion of the boy's future self. The maniacal fingers shot forth both barrages of missiles and blue lasers alike, making it more difficult than ever to avoid being hit. Young Link cried out as a missile blasted into him, knocking him back several yards, while Sheik, despite her agile figure, was nearly maimed by a jet of laser energy that tore through the blue cloth on her arm and made a sizeable gash. Both were pushed even farther back, unable to make an offensive move without risking destruction. Young Link caught a glance of Ganondorf and Master Hand nearby behind him, but there was no time to turn around. It was impossible to sidestep and navigate around the raging Crazy Hand before him, and it was best if he and Sheik refrained from backing up any further lest they be sliced into bite-sized morsels or flattened like pancakes. They were at an inescapable impasse.

Young Link's eyes widened as Sheik stopped avoiding projectiles; in a flash, she drew out a smooth, exquisitely carved bow, and fitted to it an arrow with a tip glowing with the yellow brightness of the sun. Crazy Hand focused a multitude of missiles on her, and as she was consumed in an explosion of missiles, her hand released the Light Arrow, which seared through the air like the wings of justice and pierced the square center of Crazy Hand's palm.

The exalted counterpart bawled in excruciating pain as the Light Arrow passed through him and then vanished into the distance with a twinkle. Sheik was torpedoed by the missile concentration past Master Hand into the void on the left end. After several seconds of spasms and jerks as he shook off the aftereffects of the magic arrow, Crazy Hand regained his composure and lifted himself above the battlements again, more crazed than ever.

Now only hero and nemesis remained to face the divine hand duo—but they had run out of available space. They were almost being sandwiched together as Young Link's back met Ganondorf's, both with swords drawn. The last red rays of sunlight were fading between them.

The Hands laughed. "A valiant effort, Smashers," Master Hand said, "but…it is finished…." Both giant opponents formed fists, the knuckle joints jutting forward like two rows of bony guillotines, and made ready to smash into each other. But they didn't anticipate what Young Link was doing.

The green-garbed boy held the Ocarina of Time to his lips and was blowing a tune into it, closing his eyes and swaying from side to side to the simple haunting melody. The hands hesitated before their finishing blow, thrown off by the queerness of what the Kokiri kid was doing. Even Ganondorf looked briefly confused—but then he realized what his young rival was up to and nodded, acknowledging the boy's quick-thinking skills.

The tune was soon inexplicably taken over by a whole symphony of music, deepening the emotional versatility and the soft, flowing layers of each string and wind and percussion instrument. And then the music began to increase in tempo. With it, a slight drizzle of rain initiated its descent upon every person, place, or thing below. But the tempo kept speeding up, faster and faster, and with it the pressure and density of the precipitation, until before long it became a downpour, blurring the colors of the pre-dimensional world around them. Lightning flashed in skeletal streaks amidst the dark gray clouds that had formed above them in the dusk, followed soon after by booming thunderclaps. The wind picked up, twisting past them, until the fruits of Young Link's Song of Storms took full effect. Around him and Ganondorf, the wind took on a circular swirling motion, forming a rising funnel that rapidly rose into a small twister. The two residents of Hyrule began to feel their feet lift off the ground….

Crazy Hand and his brother wasted no more time to proceed with their fist crash, not wanting their quarry to escape their clutches. But they were just a bit too late as the whistling, shrieking twister plucked Young Link and Ganondorf off the castle top and rotated them in uncontrollable circuits, elevating with each cycle. Finally, after reaching the height of the twister, they were shot straight upward, as high as the tallest spire of Hyrule Castle, and found themselves looking down dozens of yards upon their eluded adversaries below. The rain soaked them to their skin, their damp hair flickering amidst the gale.

At the peak of their whirlwind-assisted rise, Young Link looked at Ganondorf, who stared back, dark face alive with contempt for the Hands, so consumed that in his rage he did not consider his traditional animosity that he was supposed to show against the boy. With a nod, he turned away, as did the boy, as they began to fall.

Ganondorf plunged his feet straight downward, allowing no chance for his target to avoid his strike. He bent his knees, then kicked down with all his might, the joined force of the storm and his shapely leg muscles pounding the bewildered Master Hand onto the green shingles. Leaping off the Hand, he quickly drew his dark blade and lifted it ceremoniously. As he struck at Master Hand, however, his opponent rolled over, bulky as a rhinoceros, and rose to face him from another side. Bringing up the heavy sword again, Ganondorf yelled as he swung it over his right shoulder at Master Hand once more—but this time it was met with a hard _clang_. The Gerudo's eyebrows rose. This hand god had a new trick up his invisible sleeve.

Similarly, Young Link plunged his Kokiri Sword down towards Crazy Hand on the center stage and succeeded in dealing considerable damage with the assistance of gravity. He rebounded back to the stone surface and, reaching into his tunic where he miraculously kept all his equipment, drew out a sizzling bomb and tossed it at Crazy Hand. The lunatical warmonger simply caught it, however, and hurled it back at him several times faster. Young Link rolled forward, the bomb exploding where he had just been, and rose up mere inches away from the colossal white glove. He swung his lighter sword in an uppercut, expecting to make satisfying contact with his foe. But just as with Ganondorf, something equally hard clanged with his sword, blocking his hit. Young Link cried out in surprise as he realized the unexpected new technique that had been used to block his attack.

From the tips of each of the Hands' five fingers, black, pointy protrusions extended beyond about two feet, glossy and deadly like sharpened obsidian. These were what appeared to be razor-sharp fingernails, and were apparently strong enough to withstand the blows of steel weapons—no matter how large, as demonstrated with Ganondorf. And so hero and villain engaged in one of the most bizarre sword fights (of a sort) they had ever experienced.

Young Link held up his wooden Kokiri Shield to protect himself from Crazy Hand's ring finger and pinky, and dueled the other three fingers with the sword in his left hand. Crossing "blades" with the second and third ones, he jumped as the thumb sliced at his feet. Then, once he landed, Young Link shoved against the two black fingernail-like points with all the might of a child hero and landed a sharp jab in between two of the fingers. But this left no time to relax, for while his sword arm was kept busy, Crazy Hand's fourth and fifth fingers caused additional trouble, trying to circumvent the shield. It was like no enemy he'd previously faced.

Ganondorf took a less conservative approach against Master Hand, aiming to chop the fingernail blades clean off, but no matter how hard he swung, the obsidian-like points remained firm and intact. It was almost harder for him than his juvenile rival, for he had less widespread means of defending against the jabs of Master Hand's fingers. It was like combating a miniature five-headed hydra with knives for tongues; each finger moved independently, for Master Hand had such complete control over them that before long he was sweating on top of the torrential rain. He yelled as he bounded over the tyrant, slicing the top of the white hand while performing a full front flip in the air, his ragged cape billowing behind him. Landing on the other side, facing the sky, he was only just able to spin around and meet four of Master hand's black fingernails with his thick blade. He noticed the fifth point, the thumb, was not present. Peering around to locate this missing threat, his reflexes saved him as the point came flying at his head from around the side of his sword; he grasped the nearest side of the log-thick thumb, the long black point halting mere inches from his throat. The Triforce of Power glowed brighter than ever on the hand holding Master Hand back. The fact that he could hold the other four fingers back with a broadsword using only one hand proved the great extent of the energy it gave him.

Young Link panted as Crazy Hand backed away a bit from their battle. He suffered from several deep cuts from the deadly fingertips, and unlike Ganondorf, could hardly match his opponent's brawn. Bracing himself, he brought his shield up and raised his sword protectively as Crazy Hand backed away further, and then soared in a high arc, palm flat, down upon the hero. Young Link screamed in pain as his measly wooden shield was crushed and splintered by the slap, and his small body was flattened. His sword unluckily ended up sticking out in the gap between two of Crazy Hand's fingers rather than piercing him. The only things keeping the boy alive were Master Hand's rules and the low-quality resilience granted to the dwellers of the Dimension Conflux. But it was over for him; everything went black before his distorted, water-beaded vision, and he was not even conscious as Crazy Hand threw him off the side of the castle, being sped along by the pounding deluge.

The Triforce of Power exerted the last surge of its energy during Ganondorf and Master Hand's standoff, allowing the Gerudo one last passionate swipe, one that would have cleaved off any corporeal limb, yet only caused the Hand's figure to flash purple as it took the damage. The force of the rebound jarred the blade out of the dark king's hands, and the black-pointed thumb pinned him by his shoulder to the castle top, inflicting an agonizing prick that stung and throbbed like a hot poker impaling his flesh.

Ganondorf had no strength left to struggle; neither would he have done so even if he had the strength, for he would not allow his conquerors such satisfaction. Master Hand and Crazy Hand loomed above him, the rain pattering onto his face and into his eyes so he could barely see. But from what he _could_ see, he deemed the pointy black-tipped gloves to look like the claws of some repulsive creature, monstrous and undeserving of anything less than utter annihilation.

Both Hands laughed. "You have put up a worthy fight, dark king," commended Master Hand. "Truly you have well earned your place among the Greats. But not the Great _ests_ , unfortunately. I wish you a pleasant existence as part of my collection. Farewell, Ganondorf…."

But even in defeat, the Gerudo streaked with his own dark blood smirked. "You have made a crucial mistake, great beings. Your time is up."

Ganondorf was sent skyrocketing into the dark clouds, where his silhouette vanished in an indistinguishable sparkle that was cloaked behind a final flash of lightning over the land of old Hyrule.


	31. Chapter 23: Final Destination—Part II(2)

MASTER HAND: 351 CRAZY HAND: 347

The Great Fox continued to fly across the darkened sky, firing lasers left and right at masses of Wire Frames on the sloping plain below. Although the huge numbers of fighters on the Battlefields were nearly indistinguishable in the night as far as who was on what side, Peppy's radar was able to track where clots of enemies were gathered away from the Smash Brothers without him undertaking the impossible task of actually searching the ground with his own eyes. He expertly steered the craft while sending coordinates to the automatic laser turrets on where to concentrate fire. Paula, Jeff, and Poo, meanwhile, had returned to their manual turrets with which they could better see the enemy using the night vision settings. For Peppy, and many others, this was the battle of his lifetime, and nothing else mattered than doing everything within his power to win. For the most part, he even remained oblivious to what was going on atop the Great Fox—except for heavy hits upon the hull, which he took to be enemy fire from above and below.

Illogically keeping up with the moving aircraft, Master and Crazy Hand materialized, once again, at either end of the stage. The view of the Great Fox's surface ranged from nose to stern, and Master Hand was directly above the ship's main guns while Crazy Hand was behind the wings, down near the flaming engines. In the background, night had fallen upon the Battlefields, the war prolonging itself indefinitely. The sky was a pure black-violet, and the multitudinous flecks of sparkling white stars dotted the sky, twinkling as if they were watching the battle intently. And, in fact, the Star Spirits and the rest of Star Heaven were doing just that.

In sequence from left to right, beginning a few yards distant from Master Hand and concluding at the top of the Great Fox on the fin-like protrusion that represented the swift tail of a fox, the next batch of Smashers appeared in quick succession. Mario and Luigi were bent down on one knee and then rose up to face their enemy, intending to reap full restitution for the death of Vivian. No longer bothering to adjust their color-coded caps or wipe their mustaches, the historically immortalized Mario Bros stood side by side, ready to overcome the final obstacle of their long journeys. Mario's eyes were kindled with red flames that were trained upon Master Hand. The man in green gasped and jumped in surprise at the precariousness of their mobile battleground, never being one for heights. Trembling, he turned back to join in his brother's glaring, hoping he could finally overcome his fears.

Donkey Kong, paying no heed to the damage his actions might cause, pounded his watermelon fists several times on the metal surface, almost denting it with strength he wasn't fully aware of. The primate's red tie fluttered in the chilling wind, his fur rippling in the breeze and keeping him warm. He would show these oversized gloves what he had come all the way from the Kong family treehouse to accomplish.

Comrade pilots Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi alighted onto the peak of the aircraft, their confidence bolstered by the familiarity of the stage. Both taking out their blasters and peering over the edge of the peak, they spotted Crazy Hand below. Fox was determined to do all he could to protect Krystal, Slippy, and even Wolf from being forced to submit to such a vile, unpredictable enemy. Falco, on the other hand, was motivated to fight in order to prove his skill as an individual and—hopefully—prevent the Great Fox from being damaged too severely in the process. But still, the generally independent falcon knew he would also have to cooperate with Fox and the other three Smashers if they were to prevail.

Even less of a delay than before preceded the onrush of airborne combat. The constant action of war seemed to somehow speed things up, increasing their sense of urgency. Time might not be limited for the Smashers, but for just about everyone else, it was.

In a blur of blue feathers, Falco sprung upward into the sky and then came surging back down into Crazy Hand, firing blue lasers from his dual blasters as he descended. He followed up by landing a hard kick onto the top of the hand's wrist, not waiting for Fox or anyone else. He was a loyal teammate when it came to missions, although he couldn't help but be a loner at heart.

Fox sighed. "Same old Falco." The leader of team Star Fox followed after his friend. He quickly jumped over the top of the peak, halted in midair as he caused waves of flames arrayed like a comet to appear around him, and then, after a moment of holding in energy, released the fury of Fire Fox upon Crazy Hand.

As can be imagined, the diabolical counterpart was not at all happy with two animals attacking him from above. Keeping his fingertips in the same spot, he swiftly tilted his wrist counterclockwise, moving like the hand of a clock, and slammed the two pilots into the side of the peak. He followed up by backing a couple dozen yards behind the Great Fox's engines, and then rushing back as a fist, punching at the side of the peak repeatedly. Sometimes either or both of the Star Fox members were caught in the smashing; otherwise they were still too out of control from a previous hit, bouncing up from the surface, to recover from the assault. It was not a pleasant experience for Fox and Falco.

Luigi leapt on top of Mario's shoulders, and with Mario gripping his brother's feet and Luigi holding his arms out like he was playing airplane, they jumped in unison and spun rapidly, colliding against Master Hand like a whirling top. Donkey Kong, behind them, was busy swinging his arm in a circle, gathering strength. The Hand laughed even through the damage, and with a light motion, drew back and flicked Luigi clean off of Mario's shoulders. The younger brother cried out as only Luigi could as he careened toward the other end of the craft, soaring higher as he went. Still spinning with his arms out like a helicopter, he then began descending gradually, controlling his movement in an attempt to land squarely on the ship's peak. The world was a whirling blur before his eyes; he could hardly see where he was going.

However, being atop a legendary gunship such as the Great Fox, Master Hand had found it appropriate to unleash some firepower of his own. Mario hadn't the time to rebalance himself after his dizzying experience before he was blown away past Donkey Kong by a Bullet Bill-esque missile (minus the face). A number of additional missiles sped through the air in a spread-out formation toward the green helicopter.

"Mama mía!" Luigi, used to being in the air from several of his adventures, was nevertheless alarmed by the incoming unfriendly objects. These kinds of things always seemed to happen to him. Tilting the path of his spinning descent hard to the left, he was just barely able to land on top of the uppermost missile. His brown shoes kicked off of it, sending it off course and propelling himself higher into the air. While most of the missiles continued on to explode harmlessly in midair when their duration was spent, the last two, pink in color, tilted around almost intelligently to seek him out.

Taking a huge risk, Luigi decidedly veered back toward them, and then flung from his extended fingertips many small green fireballs, which fanned out all around; he hoped he would hit his targets before they hit theirs.

The results were divided. One of the homing missiles was destroyed by the barrage of green fireballs, exploding harmlessly, but the other one came sneakily from below, bursting upon contact with Luigi's feet.

"Umph!" Luigi's front was blackened, the ends of his mustache singed from the blast, but fortunately he suffered no lasting damage. His helicopter float ceased as he dropped straight down to near Mario's position, a felled flyer.

Now it was Donkey Kong's turn. The ape propelled himself on his balled fists at Master Hand, kicking with his nimble feet. The hand backed away, however, causing the kick to meet nothing but more air, and then lunged forward, grabbing the monkey.

That was a mistake.

DK to Master Hand was like grabbing an apple. The beast seethed and pushed at all sides as he was squeezed once, then twice. And with a ferocious, bird-scattering bellow, his beefy arms wrenched the huge white fingers apart and forced the monkey free of his opponent's grip.

This came as such a surprise to the incredulous Master Hand that DK was then able to lock his vast hands around two of the white fingers, and he then pulled them away from each other with all the muscle power his thick arms could provide. A definite crack could be heard, and Master Hand actually screamed in pain as his fingers seemed to be dislocated or something of that sort. With another loud snap, he cracked it back into place, and flung the Kong away with a furious swish.

But Donkey Kong held on.

Clinging onto the index finger like it was a thrashing anaconda (which he had experience with), the primate inched his way along the glove until he reached the end of the finger. Then, holding onto it with only his knees, he brought up both fists and pounded them down with tremendous force.

Master Hand brought his fingers together and ignited a rocket-like jet from his wrist, which launched both him and the monkey into the sky.

Keeping up with the Great Fox below, Master Hand wrangled with Donkey Kong, as much a duel of strength as it had been against Ganondorf—except they were moving. Master Hand spun around, executed flips and sudden jerks, but the stubborn ape would simply not relinquish his hold.

Staggering onto the back of the hand's wrist, Donkey Kong crouched on the rocket-driven surface like a professional surfer (he _had_ taken a few tips from Funky during the summer on occasion). Drawing out his Coconut Gun, DK fired several rounds of the exotic fruit at his "surfboard," each of which clanged hard into the hand and then broke and fell away, the pieces often landing on some unfortunate fighter far below. He stowed his gun away, and then, with a grunt, sprung daringly upward, almost losing his ground during his jump before he came hurtling back down with a heavy Simian Slam.

Master Hand dropped several feet, and then, fed up with this ridiculous caper, decided to end it. He sped up alarmingly, pressing far ahead of the Great Fox's path. DK, either ignorant of his doom or committed to defying his enemy to the very end, continued to pound upon the hand until the two of them vanished beyond the left side, and a white splash signified the monkey's defeat.

The Mario Bros, weakened from being scorched, had helped each other stagger to their feet, and looking up at Master Hand versus Donkey Kong, saw there was nothing they could do to help.

Fox finally succeeded in using his Reflector to rebuke Crazy Hand's constant pounding and earn him and his fellow pilot a brief respite. Falco, enraged by the humiliation of being flung about like a rag doll, drew out an enormous, bright red rocket launcher, so big he had to hold it over his shoulder and bend his knees to support its weight.

Fox gaped at him. "Where'd you get that?"

Falco grinned. "I was saving it." And with that, he shot six large red rockets out of its barrel at Crazy Hand, each explosion provoking a maddened scream with an increasingly higher decibel measure. The kickback of each shot caused the bird to slide back a couple feet. After the gun was empty, Falco casually tossed it over the edge of the Great Fox and pretended to wipe his wings together. "So when are we going to begin the _real_ fight?"

"Operation Reflex Triangle," said Fox as Crazy Hand came at them again angrily.

Both Star Fox members drew their blasters, the pair having memorized a number of strategic cooperative procedures since the last Smash Tournament. Fox then aimed a shot at a spot above the space between them, which reverberated off the Reflector Falco had tossed up to that very spot. The red strip of concentrated heat angled down toward Falco, who used a second Reflector to cause it to bounce back to the one he had thrown. Fox reflected the same laser yet again, only now, the thrown Reflector having returned like a boomerang to Falco's hand, the laser shot directly into Crazy Hand, causing several times more damage than a normal shot after being reflected four times.

The teammates repeated this process for about a minute, the laser and thrown Reflector traveling at such a high speed that the cooperative move was difficult to follow with the eye. Crazy Hand was held back by the sporadic stream of highly charged laser segments coming at him. Some he avoided, but most met their mark. The engines blazed from over the nearby edge, luminous in the night air.

"Yah!"

From above, Mario and Luigi brought their fists down upon Crazy Hand, and then dropped to the ship's surface. Allowing Operation Reflex Triangle to continue, the Mario Bros further wore away at their superlative opponent with punches, kicks, and head bonks. Crazy Hand screamed in fury and agony, battering them away with reckless swipes and punches, all of which the experienced Smashers were able to avoid, especially with four ganging up on one.

Mario began to realize why Master Hand's function for the Smash Ball was so significant; had they been able to take the Hands on as the Original 25 together, they would have had the advantage.

But now…

Master Hand came to his brother's aid from an unexpected direction: behind them, perpendicular to the ship, so that if the battle were to be viewed on a screen, it would appear as if he were rushing toward the viewer. Still fueled by his rocket wrist, Master Hand's fist crashed through the middle of the lower sector of the Great Fox, striking Fox and Mario, who happened to be standing near each other at the moment. Unfortunately, the two heroes were trapped in between the white knuckles, and they were carried farther over the edge of the Great Fox and then allowed to drop with no hope of recovery. Two more splashes of whiteness ensued.

"Mario!" Luigi was at a loss of how to function now without his brother to follow.

Operation Reflex Triangle ceased immediately, of course, the last laser veering off into the distance in a random direction. Crazy Hand flicked Luigi into the wall of the peak next to Falco, and Master Hand returned from behind the Great Fox to hover beside his brother menacingly.

The two tyrants laughed. "This amuses me, brother," Crazy Hand said. "We now find ourselves facing two sidekicks, two lesser figures in their kingdoms who were never able to amount to the greatness of the superior hero. I do wonder how they will fare alone without their frontrunners to guide their every move…."

That got to Falco. "Why, you cheeky..."

But Luigi had placed a gloved hand on the fowl's shoulder. The traditional housekeeper of the Mario residence now realized what had _really_ held him back from being as much of a star as Mario: himself. They had to have confidence in themselves, but they could not afford to face either Master or Crazy Hand alone.

Because that was what Master Hand wanted.

"We have to a-do this together," Luigi said, having better control over his emotions than Falco.

Falco looked like he was going to shove past Luigi at first, but then, slowly, his fuming simmered down, and he reigned in his emotions, still passionately provoked against the being who had insulted him, but able to control his actions with more prudence. "You're right. Let's do this."

The two "sidekicks" nodded at one another, and then, as one, confronted the hand-shaped arbiters.

The Hands employed a certain sadistic form of teamwork of their own, making them a true challenge for the two oft-forgotten heroes to combat. Falco and Luigi were almost overwhelmed several times by their opponents' sheer size and the difficulty of dodging their widespread attacks in such an enclosed section of the Great Fox. Synchronized claps, fist crunches, flicks, swipes, and palm poundings were examples of the kind of opposition the Smashers faced. In between these relentless attacks, Falco and Luigi piped in comparably minor strikes of their own: kick-flips, spinning wing clips, and Falco Phantasms from the former; jabs, multidirectional Green Missiles, and fireballs from the latter. However, they didn't always get off unscathed from Master and Crazy Hand; both sides took considerable damage during the 2-on-2 match.

The Battlefields continued to scroll by; the war below was always writhing with motion, and yet actual headway made by the Smash Brothers was nearly as slow as watching a plant grow. Simply put, little changed.

The fight atop the Great Fox had to culminate eventually, however. The two Smashers' most effective approach was when Falco used his Reflector to bounce one of Luigi's green fireballs away and burn one of the Hands. But then, just after Falco reflected another fireball, he was flattened by an open slap from Crazy Hand before the fireball reached the enemy. Luigi was snatched in one of Master Hand's death grips at the same time, and suddenly, it was over.

"So… _WEAK_ …"

"So… _pathetic…disappointing…"_

Neither Smasher preferred to think about how they were disposed of after that, instead allowing themselves to drift into the dark subconscious state that awaited them. Only one thought occupied their minds as they fell into the void. Unable to recall what the special contacts on their eyes had last reported on the Hands' remaining stamina, they worried about the task they had left behind for those to come.

Had they done enough?

* * *

MASTER HAND: 202 CRAZY HAND: 76

The scene had returned to where Master Hand had initially addressed the Original 25: the purple metal platform, kept aloft by the shining black core beneath it. The same beautiful, climactic space view sparkled in the background and all about them. This place was nowhere, in a space between spaces, similar even to the space in the Dimension Conflux, but restricted to black and purple streaks and shades. It would come to be known thereafter as Final Destination. And yet, somewhere within those stars, one got the impression that a heavenly audience was watching with bated breath, praying for the victory of the heroes and sending their spiritual strength and waiting to see what the fate of their universe would be.

It was impossible to tell if Master or Crazy Hand, as they reappeared here, noticed this distant presence; either circumstance, however, did not affect what was at stake or who would leave with everything. Although they did not don Adversary Analyzers like the Smashers, they were very much aware of how much life force remained within themselves, and were now all but finished toying with their victims; Master Hand was impatient, anxious to see to the completion of his plan. No mercy would be shown, nor lack of effort.

And then—the last of the Original 25 who had not been consumed by the unforgiving void. Showing no outward signs of fear, they were nevertheless mindful of how much pressure was laid on their shoulders. If they couldn't end it here, no one ever would. Each hero also recognized the galactic crowd interspersed throughout the Nintendo Universe, awaiting the last stand of the individuals representing everything they hoped and dreamed for: freedom, safety, security, and above all, genuine, long-lasting peace in their beloved world. But, contrasting this, the spreading darkness of Master Hand's evil will seemed to be visibly engulfing the galaxies in slow, seductive masses of purple fog that signified the impending reign of a morbid age, irrevocably consuming the familiar, blessed world they knew. From the looks of it, Master Hand would be giving no second chances.

Pikachu sparked with energy, so fed up with being rendered unable to help his friends that he looked like he was ready to let loose several thunderstorms' worth of electricity upon his captors. Princess Peach, sharing a similar sentiment, struggled to control her unstable emotions; thinking of everything her people, her friends, her heroes had been put through in her absence, all because of a tyrant wanting to build a trophy collection, infused her with a royal fury which could not have been matched by any male—including Crazy Hand. She was not overly fond of repetitions of her vulnerable past. They had picked the wrong princess to capture this time.

On the opposite end facing Crazy Hand, Captain Falcon made his appearance. Like Pikachu and Peach, he had so much energy bottled up from his immobile imprisonment that he was aching to unleash it upon the ones responsible. Only he had a more…practical way of doing so, involving plenty of physical contact. Beside him, the fellow bounty hunter Samus Aran stood erect, already aiming her arm cannon at Crazy Hand as she faded in. The fourth one to suffer from existing as a trophy for months, the chosen of the Chozo resented all the action she'd already missed, and fully intended to make up for it within the next few minutes with some good old technological magic. From behind the visor of her Power Suit, the aspiring woman felt ready for just about anything. Master Hand wanted a show? She would most certainly give him one.

It rather made sense why the Hands had decided to leave their former captives for last.

Finally, undaunted by any change in scenery or setting because of his diverse experience, Dr. Mario materialized in the center of the stage, apparently being given the choice of which enemy to take on first. He had hoped to have been given the opportunity to fight alongside his duplicate, but he vaguely knew the main reason he had been singled out. Still, there was no time to dwell on such things, for he had a final showdown to finish—a war to win. Knowing his two-dimensional home was not exempt from the bounds of Master Hand's influence if the Smash Brothers were to fail, the only hero with a PhD considered his options. Finding a good battle strategy wouldn't hurt their chances.

Master Hand still had over 200 hit points remaining, making that a difficult foe to finish—especially with another one not allowing anyone to rest from behind. But Crazy Hand… _he_ had only 76 HP left. _That_ was a reachable goal to strive toward even during a multi-opponent battle, even more so if they were to work together. And if they could narrow down the fight to a single adversary…

…they _might_ just have a chance. Even with the dauntingly large amount of health they would have to deplete once that goal was reached. It was going to be close.

The doctor briefly pondered this, with as little time as one had when a match was commencing, and then made up his mind.

"Everyone! Direct all your attacks at a-Crazy Hand!"

And so it began.

Both Hands fired up a crossfire of blue lasers from each of their fingers, overlapping each other and, as they moved around, making themselves almost as hard to dodge as rain. Samus curled herself into her Morph Ball form and rolled around, bouncing occasionally to avoid the lasers, and slowly maneuvered her way toward Crazy Hand. Captain Falcon dived and rolled perpendicularly from the danger zone, then ran around and in between the wider-spread beams to get at Crazy Hand as well. Dr. Mario cringed as a laser singed his left arm. Similar to Falcon, he flipped his way to the edge of the platform, tossing Megavitamins at the enormous left hand during the hazardous journey. Most of the bouncing pills were incinerated by the interlacing lasers, but a couple found their mark. Pikachu turned into a blur as he made use of Agility to whiz through the lasers and end up behind Crazy Hand. Peach, apart from the others, jumped in front of Master Hand's beams and held up her loyal servant Toad, whose spores counteracted one or more of the beams again and again, making it easier for the rest to focus on their target.

"Piiiii….kaaaaaa….CHUUUUUUUUUU!" A tremendous bolt of lightning spawned from the sky and struck down onto Pikachu, shocking Crazy Hand along the way. Both Hand and mouse flashed between flesh and skeleton, and the former screamed and terminated his finger lasers. Before Pikachu could regain control after taking in the last of the lightning, he was jabbed at by a giant white finger and sent over the edge. While he recovered, Captain Falcon came at Crazy Hand with a knee raised in the move often labeled the "Knee of Justice." But Crazy Hand was too quick; he rolled over in the air, evading the Captain entirely. He balled into a fist and pounded upon the man like an uncontrollable stamp machine.

Dr. Mario and Pikachu came from either side and attacked Crazy Hand simultaneously as he struck the ground, the doctor kicking with both feet, the Pokémon bashing headfirst and sending several small jolts of electricity into his opponent. Samus, no longer hindered by all but a few of the beams, expanded out of the Morph Ball and triggering her flamethrower at Crazy Hand's knuckles, the fire licking along the rubbery white material.

Crazy Hand went berserk, writhing on the ground, twisting and jerking in order to throw off all his challengers. Captain Falcon was able to crawl away in the meantime, holding his nearly destroyed helmet in pain, but very much glad he had it. Dr. Mario stood back up and glanced through his contacts at the enemy's health count.

"Only 27 hit a-points left! Keep a-going!"

Master Hand put an end to his own lasers and faced the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom individually. Light and surprisingly quick, Peach whisked around her captor, out-maneuvering Master Hand's wide-ranged attacks and striking with fierce little slaps, kicks (which were difficult in a dress), and occasional swings of her golf club, tennis racket, and frying pan. Her hair flailed about her shoulders, her pink dress swishing with delayed movement, her heart pounding faster than during any previous capture by Bowser.

But she shrieked as she felt the enormous white fingers wrap around her body and compress her into Master Hand's steely grip. She pounded her slender arms on the index finger like the girl in King Kong, but in vain.

Master Hand laughed. "Ha ha ha! Look at it this way, princess….Mario will never have to rescue you again!"

At almost the same moment, coincidentally, Crazy Hand had gotten ahold of Pikachu in an even tighter grip than Master Hand's. The Pokémon squealed bleakly, his pitch ascending then descending. "Pikaaa…"

"Mama mía!" Dr. Mario cried as he saw the two hands, particularly Master Hand, chuck their cargo over the edge and down toward the ever-stretching space. Feeling just as protective of the princess as his other self, he raced over to the drop-off and watched helplessly as Peach descended. He was caught off-guard, however, when the princess opened her carnation parasol and slowly floated down toward the endless abyss, waiting with eyes clenched tight for the passage into the void.

Samus, closer to Peach and thinking fast, suddenly cast herself off the side of the stage, tilted head-first like a skydiver, and flung her grapple beam at the damsel in distress. The luminous, sparkling extension wrapped around both the handle of the umbrella and Peach's delicate hands, and with a strained tug, Samus cast her catch back over the edge of the platform. She then made a close call in recovering herself by spinning upward in a Screw Attack, ending barely close enough to grip the metallic edge and pull herself back up with a heave.

Pikachu, on the other hand (pun intended), was not so lucky, as the white splash below attested.

Dr. Mario leapt at Master Hand and performed a Dr. Mario Tornado, whirling against the glorified glove in a rapid succession of blows. Similarly, Falcon, finally recovered from his cranial discombobulation, pounced onto Crazy Hand's equivalent of a back and delivered quick sequential punches, bringing his target extremely close to defeat and accompanying each hit with a chant of masculine effort.

But on the very brink of destruction, with all save three hit points depleted, Crazy Hand bumped the driver off of him like an angry bull, then rose to a height unreachable by the Smashers. In an outburst of unheard-of proportions, even for a maniac like him, Crazy Hand unleashed an onslaught of multiple chaotic bombardments at once. Purple explosives, lasers, and missiles: all of these things began raining upon Samus, Falcon, and Peach, while Dr. Mario continued to duel Master Hand off to the side. All three suffered unaffordable damage from this precipitation of projectiles with gravity working against them and the attacks moving too quickly to avoid.

At last, the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom created a narrow space of shelter by holding the brave Toad above her, whose constant releasing of spores kept her and the other two who joined her safe. They looked up at Crazy Hand's craziest revolt yet, and after sharing frantic, questioning looks and a few words and gestures, realized how to overcome it.

Princess Peach, without a word, handed the brave, willing Toad to Captain Falcon, reached into the metal ground, and illogically plucked out a melon-sized turnip with a confused, swirly-eyed face. Samus aimed straight upward and shot a thick, slow-moving missile that began to ascend toward Crazy Hand. But they knew that a missile would have no chance of penetrating the constant downpour of destruction, so they had chosen the turnip as the ideal vessel, its magical properties making it resilient enough to withstand such pressure. So, Peach carefully tossed the dazed turnip at an angle so it was directly above Samus's missile as it came back down. The force of the missile's explosion launched the vegetable up, through the lasers, bombs, and explosives, and, with a dramatic _pop_ , it bounced into Crazy Hand, depleting his last three hit points.

Acting like the turnip had been the sting of a fatal insect, Crazy Hand screamed louder than ever as the truck-sized figure was engulfed in a number of explosions that rendered him shapeless until, with a burst of pearly violet fireworks, he dissolved into nothing.

"RAAAAAAAAARGHHH!"

The brother, finding his counterpart to be no more, yelled in outrage, and sweeping Dr. Mario aside, catapulted himself at Princess Peach, Crazy Hand's conqueror. The poor girl didn't have a chance; in a blur of white, Master Hand flashed past Samus and Falcon and forced her out of the battlefield, sending her spitefully into the void.

Then, slowly turning around, he floated back to confront the three survivors, for the first recorded time appearing as angry as his fallen companion.

"This ends _now._ "

The Hand dive-bombed in a fell swoop, passing closely over the ducking Smashers' heads and twisting back around to face them again on the other side.

Falcon grinned. "He's only got 151 left. We can beat him!"

"You two distract him." Samus cocked her arm cannon. "I'll go deliver some real damage."

The Captain and the doctor nodded, the former giving her a salute. "You got it, sister."

Side by side, Captain Falcon and Dr. Mario ran forward and then jumped up to meet Master Hand in combat. While they danced around their enemy, Samus powered up her charge shot, the ball growing into a sphere of blue-white energy.

Dr. Mario groaned as he was swatted down by the giant wrist. Even Falcon was having trouble remaining unscathed while keeping Master Hand's attention diverted.

 _Just a little longer, guys,_ Samus thought.

One more second…then another…and…done! Her energy-based weapon was fully charged. Without hesitating, she let the sucker loose, the life-sized ball colliding into Master Hand just as he was about to flick Captain Falcon off the stage.

The Hand briefly turned electric blue as the energy coursed through him. Incited with fury yet again, Master Hand turned away from the other two and came zooming at the bounty hunter the same way he had at Peach. Only this time, she was prepared.

Samus jumped and, with precise timing, smashed back down as Master Hand passed underneath, jamming her metal arm into her foe with a clang. Then, as her ride predictably began spinning and whatnot in order to dislodge her, she cleverly reverted to Morph Ball form, in which she could not only keep up with Master Hand's movements, but also eject several flashing yellow-red bombs, which exploded upon contact.

Dr. Mario and Captain Falcon came eagerly to assist the assault on the floating monstrosity, pitching in with Megavitamins, Coin-yielding Super Jump Punches, Falcon Kicks, and another Knee of Justice, this one actually hitting its target with a satisfying thud.

Master Hand, without his counterpart to aid him, could not adequately regain control over the situation. He'd had it. The whiteness of the voluminous glove glowed brighter and brighter, until it was almost painful to look at, and then, after a moment in which everything seemed to freeze in place, all heck broke loose.

"I…WILL…NOT…LOSE!"

An unavoidable transparent sphere of some undefined force spread out rapidly from around Master Hand, raging against the last remaining Smashers. All three of them were pushed far out, too far away to recover—Falcon and Dr. Mario to the right end past the edge of the platform; and Samus, vertically, until she vanished and spiraled into the distance, twinkling as if she were joining them.

The white sphere faded away, but it appeared that the two heroes who had been pushed off had no hope of returning.

That is, until Captain Falcon, making a comparatively small sacrifice, suddenly leapt at the doctor mid-fall and grabbed onto him bodily with all limbs, their descent stopping abruptly. "Yeeeaaasss!" A blast of Falcon-generated flames burned the doctor, certainly, but the force of the pilot's gravity-defying stunt was enough to catapult him back onto the stage. And with the leverage and space gained by the grab, Captain Falcon was then able to perform a _second_ Falcon Dive, bringing himself just within reach of the edge.

The two Smashers stood up with narrowed eyes, glaring at their antagonist, knowing intuitively that the next few seconds would end the match—for better or for worse. They knew this also because their own strength had been severely, almost completely drained by the match, and Master Hand himself, the final hurdle in the way of saving the Nintendo World, had only 25 points of stamina remaining. One for each chosen Smasher….

Falcon gritted his teeth. Dr. Mario panted. The two shared one final look, turned to face the perverse creator, and made their last stand.

It was a blur of movement; neither seemed to be completely aware of what was happening. All they knew was that Dr. Mario had gone below for a slide-tackle, but had somehow been knocked away, too far away. And the Captain had brought back his hand in a final gesture.

"FALCON…PUN—"

The man was terminated mid-speech as Master Hand punched him with a final shocking slam. He disappeared beyond the rightmost side in a white splash, vanishing even faster than Dr. Mario….

 _NO! This can't happen!_ the doctor panicked as he tumbled toward the abyss, heart shattered.

The hero reached into his coat, pressed a button, and then all went black.

* * *

The two Smashers stood up with narrowed eyes, glaring at their antagonist, knowing intuitively that the next few seconds would end the match—for better or for worse. They knew this also because their own strength had been severely, almost completely drained by the match, and Master Hand himself, the final hurdle in the way of saving the Nintendo World, had only 25 points of stamina remaining. One for each chosen Smasher….

Falcon gritted his teeth. Dr. Mario panted. The two shared one final look, turned to face the perverse creator, and made their last stand.

 _WAIT!_ the doctor's thoughts screamed at him as they advanced in a blur. _You just went through this!_

 _But…_ His brain clicked in sudden realization. _The last thing I remember doing was pressing a button out of instinct…the_ Reset Button, _of course!_ His heart leapt in relief and joy, but then began beating frantically again, for now he had one chance— _one_ —to make things end differently. But what _did_ he need to do differently?

There was no time to think. Images flashed by as they reached Master Hand again. But this time, Dr. Mario did _not_ attempt to slide-tackle underneath their nemesis. Instead, doing the first thing that came to his head, he whipped out his white cape and swung it past Master Hand, causing him to completely flip around.

Captain Falcon brought back his fist.

"FALCON…PAAAAUUNCH!"

The flaming red falcon joined the Captain in delivering the final blow as Master Hand turned around.

Devastated by the decisive hit, the Hand spun around several times, then came to a halt with inexpressible disbelief.

A small explosion blasted against his palm.

"No…" Another blast, followed by several more. "NO…" Like Crazy Hand before him, a multitude of explosions engulfed the tyrant, disfiguring him beyond visibility and recognition.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A cascade of rainbow fireworks burst forth from where Master Hand had once been, the particles disappearing into glittering silver dust.

* * *

MASTER HAND: 0 CRAZY HAND: 0

All of a sudden, every enemy burst into purple smoke. Every Wire Frame, Starman, Aparoid, Boo, Space Pirate, even Kraid and Mother Brain, left empty, awkward space behind them before the baffled Smash Brothers. Silence prevailed across the Battlefields and inside the Room.

The Original 25 reappeared where they had been before being taken to Final Destination, as confused as the rest. They did not register what had happened for a number of minutes that seemed like an eternity.

But.

Before anyone could begin cheering.

Before the smallest Goomba could utter a single cry of triumph at their victory.

The walls and ceiling of Master Hand's Room became transparent, allowing everyone a strange view in and out of the vast quarters.

Complete blackness overcame the entire sky, casting the Nintendo World in an overwhelming darkness. Nothing could be seen; any other light source was negated. It seemed like the world was coming to an end.

And descending where every Smash Brother could see, from the center of the darkness above Master Hand's Room, a mass of swirling amethyst currents slowly, purposefully flowed down, giving off an otherworldly glow that seemed to thrive in the darkness. The rough sphere of undefined substance halted where every single defending Nintendonian had a clear perspective.

Mewtwo frowned, staring at the ominous shroud in the east. Mentally expanding the scope of his mind to encompass all of the Smash Brothers, he sent one brief message.

 _This…is not over yet._


	32. Chapter 24: Secret of the Room (1)

Chapter 24: Secret of the Room

* * *

 **A** man's silhouette presented itself out of the mass.

At first the looming shape was just pure, jet black, almost like Mr. Game & Watch. It stepped along the purple swirls like they were solid ground, striding casually until it found a suitable spot. It was a tall, stolid figure of medium build, its hands buried in what could be inferred by the outline to be pockets.

There was a long wait.

Every single pair of eyes was fixed upon this portentous figure, and not one of them blinked, transfixed and mystified, haunted by the somehow baleful presence.

Finally, it stepped forward again, and then, its new position affecting the angle of the glowing purple light, its features were illuminated.

It was not what they had expected. Not what _anyone_ would have expected. Indeed, who would have predicted such a peculiar man to come out of such a surreal purple shroud—and with such unrevealing smile? He was clothed in a full formal suit with a midnight blue jacket and plum-colored dress pants, the two colors blending together like a shadow deep within the ocean and the disturbed water surrounding it. But contrasting both of these hues were a plain scarlet tie as well as his dark, erratic hair—which was tinted with green, the color comparable to the blackest form of spinach imaginable, except with a richness, a sleekness, a sheen that no other living thing could ever equal. It was combed neatly to both sides, split down the middle, but somehow still managed to have a prominent, symmetrical wave curving up and then down on each side like a perfectly rounded curly bracket. Black dress shoes opposed the pearly whiteness of the two white gloves covering his hands, both being as spotless and flawless as everything else about his appearance. The color of the skin on his face, however, was not particularly appealing; it was a faded, ghostly white tinted with a bit of gray and even a tiny tinge of pale blue. Above his pale-lipped smile, a straight, sharp-edged nose bore the weight of protuberant sunglasses, rimless with large lenses that completely hid the man's eyes. They flashed knowingly from the purple illumination. The head itself was elliptical, taller than it was wide, and narrowing slightly to the blunt point of his bony chin.

And yet there seemed to be something more to him—besides the eerily familiar gloves, besides his strange, omniscient gaze. He could not be described as simply 3-D; there seemed to be more dimensions, more complexity to the stranger than the Nintendo World had ever encountered. It almost caused one to go cross-eyed looking at him; the viewer's brain became addled by the presence of too many details than should have been physically possible.

No one had ever seen him before, at least not like this, and yet it seemed something deep inside them, unconscious until this point, had been waiting the entire duration of their adventures to do so; this was unreserved, unconcealed. It was truth.

The lips parted, revealing correspondingly perfect teeth, purer than a bleached white T-shirt in a snowstorm. And from that mouth flowed a voice, a voice familiar in that it was by pitch and speech pattern the very same as Master and Crazy Hand's, echoing with a deep stentorian power. But this voice also possessed a…musical tone to it, making each syllable sound like there was no other way it could possibly be said, as if in speaking, he was declaring the definition of perfection through sound, taking his time with each word like it was a delicate package to be delivered. It was a voice that seemed to be made for making announcements.

His smile remained between each lip movement, a noticeable firmness to it. "Wonderful! Wonderful…absolutely perfect. I…have waited a long time for this day. And before anything else, I wish to offer the sincerest of congratulations to the lucky contestants in my game. You have all won…a prize. A prize so enormous, so priceless, that has been well earned by your efforts. I speak to everyone, the entirety of the Nintendo World's population, but specifically, I'd like to give special recognition to the group of braves who deserve much of the credit. People of This World, please listen well as I greet our heroes."

Instantly, each of the Original 25 became coated with the same purple force, and against each Smasher's own will was carried steadily through the air with no obvious effort on the stranger's part, through the transparent walls of the Room where necessary, until all of them were lined up in a cluster before him. Despite their general fearlessness, not one of them felt comfortable with this strange situation, and not one of them felt equal to the man their eyes were riveted upon. They could breathe, move their mouths, and make other basic body motions, but their location was fixed and unchangeable.

The black-spectacled stranger continued to smile with enormous control. "What a remarkable thing it is that I, the rightful sovereign of this land, finally get to meet you esteemed warriors at last. From the very day I chose you for the tournaments, I knew I had made a fateful decision, which even now is coming into play. I offer you the highest commendations for the great strains, the extraordinary trials, the rigorous tests you passed and endured to make it here, to earn the privilege of hearing the _full_ truth about the existence of the Nintendo World and everything in it. So now, at the end of all things, I would suggest that you all relax; it is over, the final key has clicked into place, and the fate of my future dominion is sealed—as it has been all along, of course." He put one hand in a pocket, and with the other reached up and adjusted his sunglasses, which flashed at them as he did so. "Relax, for you will have plenty of time to mull everything over in your minds afterwards, I assure you. And with that, let my tale of revelation begin."

As the man who claimed to be the ruler of the Nintendo World spoke, everyone listened with the same rapt, expectant attention, the Original 25 more than anyone else. Even those with impatient or prideful personalities did not intervene, including Bowser and Ganondorf.

"I will have to start far back, before these worlds were created. First, my own identity, a mystery which must surely be chief among all of your thoughts. I was once a human, a mortal like yourselves." The stranger said this with the implication that he was now neither human nor mortal. "But I came not from a world like this; no, _I_ originate from a dimension very different from this one, simpler and yet superior in almost every way. For, you see, it was from my world that yours was created.

"There was—or perhaps still is—a unique group, a team of humans who devoted their lives to this purpose. I was among them, one of the primary sources of the ideas that eventually became this place as we know it. For years on end, these creators and I worked restlessly to design a universe without the limits present in our own, a universe filled by our own magnificent ideas, with diverse beings that had access to fantastic powers and spectacular locations. By these means, the Nintendo World came into existence, along with each of you. The magic of imagination, you see, was the only form of magic available to us humans, and we never tired of experimenting with the endless possibilities, and reveling in our creations.

"But one day, I came up with an idea: an unsurpassable idea that I knew would enrich the worlds' ingenious construction a hundredfold. More excited and sure of this concept than anything else in my life, I rushed to the head of our team and presented my idea to him, confident he and the rest would see how much richer it would make our created universe. My proposition was to equalize the opposition, to make evil just as strong and prone to succeed as good, allowing for truly unforgettable, emotional, tragic, and entertaining stories to unfold. Instead of artificially designing heroes to always come out victorious, why not give the other side the same opportunity, for the sake of fairness, for the sake of balance?

"The team, however, would not accept my proposal, their minds blinded to the perfection of my plan. And for suggesting such a change, the leader not only rejected the truth, but he banished me from their universe to a place where I could not cause any more 'corruption' among the team's ideas—namely, the imaginary world itself in all its reality. It was a cruel and unjust joke of theirs that in punishment for such a crime against their own preferences, I should be trapped forever as part of the unbalanced side, to see if I could fulfill my request by my own Hands. So they claimed, in a twisted fashion, that in a sense my request had been granted. Such fools they were….

"Initially, I was overwhelmed by how different This World was from my old one; almost nothing was the same, and absolutely nothing could quell my lingering resentment for the loss of my previous life, and the disability to exact revenge upon those who had trapped me here. I was literally a mass of pure vexation, so consumed by my anger that for my first years of existence in the newly born land of Nintendo, I went around discreetly lashing out at the beauty of the world that surrounded me, blaming it for my condemned isolation. Only once did I interfere in the matters of its people—in hopes of brightening the prospect of forever living in this everlasting prison. And only one Nintendonian of note did I meet—or rather, confront—before my dark age came to an end."

The man did not look anywhere else to single someone out, simply continuing his history without appearing to give the acknowledged encounter any further consideration. But the one to whom he referred knew precisely who the man was, and blanched with shock; yet this person remained silent. There was much more to this to be heard.

"But after that, my very substance was dissipated until it was no longer material in the normal sense. My widespread particles fled all occupied lands, and forged into flickering shadows which, for ages on end, cast themselves about the universe, causing strife and dissent wherever I went to pass the time and keep my mind off what I truly yearned for. You might be surprised, Smashers, how many fundamental conflicts that originated from my subtle influence. To name but a few, my shadows are what caused a once-happy Koopa to mutate himself through hate, envy, and self-pity into a monster determined to take it all out on the princess of the kingdom." He nodded toward Bowser, who perked up at the discomfortingly knowledgeable stranger who had so blatantly spoken of his early emotions. "And it was not by natural means through which a growing Gerudo male, rare for his kind, was taken by a sudden craving for power and inherited the spirit of the Demon King." The man acknowledged Ganondorf in the same manner. "Without my involvement, the corrupting powers of the sentient planet Phaaze would not exist. Neither would humans from Kanto be inspired to form a team dedicated to using Pokémon for whatever purpose they pleased. Not even Andross would have ever come up with the perverse experiments that got him banished from Lylat in the first place save for my careful prodding. The list goes on and on. But you can surely see that even when I haven't seemed to be around…I _always_ am.

"Then came the Copyright Wars. A time when I was truly intrigued to see what the Nintendo World's defenders could do. And I was impressed. The Microsoft and Sony Worlds were held off for the majority of the war. But once Microsoft let loose its fiercest warriors under the command of the Master Chief, and Sony sent its strongest under the direction of Solid Snake…well, suffice it to say that despite your valiance, I knew it wouldn't be enough.

"Not without me.

"Yes, it was I! I was the one who ultimately drove away Microsoft's forces, leading to the eventual conclusion of the war and the truce that satisfied Sony and at least kept Microsoft contained. So, bitter as this moment may be for those few who remember, I do hope you can appreciate the fact that without me, you would be worse off than you are now. Not that I need your praise, or any recognition. No, my greatest work is the development of a collection, a great shrine arraying the marvelous diversity of a universe beyond any creator's wildest dreams. They had no idea what they had created. But I do. My time among you has given me a most complete knowledge of its inner workings, its geography, and its denizens.

"As for my name, I am called many things: Alpha and Omega; the Beginning and the End; the Lost Creator; Lord of the Shadows; the Stranger of Shining Eyes; and many others—even a human name I chose to forget. But _you_ may call me…" The stranger smirked and took a dramatic pause.

"…Master.

"As I observed your efforts, Smashers, there was but one thing I failed to understand; you were motivated by each other, by the protection of those you love, but it did not seem to daunt you how little you really understood. You dismissed the mystery of why two giant white hands, residing in a giant room, decided to come into your lives and try to ruin them. You forgot that the root of overcoming any problem...is in understanding its meaning."

The man known as Master raised an eyebrow beneath his dark sunglasses, the action apparent because of the creasing on one side of his forehead.

"Would you like to know?"

He paused briefly, but the thousands of Nintendonians remained silent. It was an unfathomable concept—to search for the right thing to say to this high-minded being. He smiled widely, then held up his two gloved hands high for all to see. "I _AM_ Master and Crazy Hand. They are me. My power over manipulation of matter has granted me the ability to divide my essence into any form I wish. My personality was split between my creativity and my inkling for destruction so that both could act to fulfill my purposes as one. Defeating them as you just did, which I will admit surpassed even my expectations, has only forced me to show my whole self. The giant room is an exact replica of the bedroom I lived in as a human of my dimension. With my eternal confinement in the world I helped create, I had to find a reason to exist, a purpose to drive me. So arose my passion for collecting, and so began my quest to acquire the perfect collection and to then become the supreme being of the Nintendo Universe. With time and space under my jurisdiction, I will unlock the secret of creation…and the reversal of the process. By so doing, I may very well be able to find a pathway back to my old world, and destroy the narrow-minded simpletons who forced me here. If not, I will have already reaped sufficient revenge—by ruining their ideas, the way they did mine!"

As he said this last phrase, Master reached into his suit and pulled out a long, resplendent object. It was a rod, a staff wrought of pure gold that looked ancient but still shone with the brightness of newly polished metal. Master's pale, grayish fingers wrapped tightly around the rod, no less splendid in comparison. The staff, when pulled all the way out and placed atop the purple substance at his side, was about a foot shorter than himself, the bottom end blunt and round. But the tip was mounted by something that drew all eyes to it. Four golden prongs encased a glorious sphere the size of a basketball. This sphere was of clear glass, and encased within the ball was what seemed to be some combination of electric blue liquid and gas, more effulgent than the brightest of Shine Sprites. Its brilliance shone in the eyes of every witness, practically radiating power. A cross of deeper blue, the same midnight blue of Master's suit, shimmered at an off-centered position within the ball, clearly representing the symbol of the Smash Tournaments. Something noticeable about the blue contents was a flat cutoff about a third down from the top; at that line, the blue suddenly ended, being plain clear glass above it, like a partially downed glass of milk.

Master raised the rod into the air, the light from it growing brighter, and based on his raised voice, he was obviously in Crazy Hand mode. "So now you know who to blame for your fall, people of Nintendo—besides yourselves."

The wind suddenly began to pick up, swirling across the entire land, a fell current signifying Master's emotions. The shimmering ball of light separated itself from the blue sphere, ascending ominously, and enlarged indefinitely as Master caused the rod to pour energy into it.

The globe dilated to a frightening size, becoming as large as the man himself, then a bus, then a building, then the giant television, then the entire desktop, practically filling the atmosphere with its unthinkable diameter. Blue ripples and jolts leapt across the white sphere, their energy contained only by Master's command. Finally, after it seemed it would rend the sky asunder with its gargantuan magnitude, the rod gave up a last wisp of power, then reverted to its regular brightness. Master kept the rod raised all the same, keeping the overwhelming force at bay.

"The master makes all the rules. The servants follow them. When those rules are broken, regardless of what party is responsible, the world must pay the price. A new era will begin, and I do hope the lesson will finally be ingrained into everyone's minds forever that your Master, which is I, _will get what I demand. Now DIE!_ "

For some it happened quickly, and was over quickly. For others, however, it went by in slow motion, descending upon them in a terrible trance.

The loudest boom ever sounded within the borders of the Nintendo Universe thundered as the colossal sphere burst forth, spreading lightning-like tendrils in every direction across the Battlefields, lighting the land as they went. Upon every body of the Smash Brothers it struck, leaping from figure to figure with jagged precision. A horrible, washed-out sound echoed from the Nintendonians like a tsunami crashing against a forest, like a crowd whose volume gradually raised in a perfect crescendo. The brightness of the spreading tendrils of lightning illuminated much of the darkened land, but it was akin to the illumination of Egypt as the angel of death from _The Prince of Egypt_ swept through its palaces, stealing the life out of all the firstborn. The screams of Toads, soldiers, pilots, beasts, and all others were caught by the white destruction before they could be fully uttered. Arwings and gunships burst apart in billowing explosions as the jagged bolts passed through them, only adding to the cumulative chaos. None were exempt; the Original 25 disappeared amidst the blinding, destructive lightning; Professor E. Gadd and all the other prominent leaders of the Smash Brothers were consumed; a group of bolts struck down onto the table in the Room, streaking through the hearts of every remaining individual. The chains of lightning did not cease their rampage until reaching the end of the Smash Brothers' armies, running themselves through King Dedede, who was farthest away, last.

Master's expression was impassive, not a single feature of his face changing the slightest fraction, not even breathing, as his purpose fulfilled itself. The globe of energy slowly shrunk in volume until the last shred of it was separated into a strip of energy that curled into a ghostly white spiral and faded away.

Then a flash of pure, saturated whiteness obscured all who remained to see it.

* * *

A silence had fallen upon the land greater than any before it, for this time, there was no held breath waiting to be released. When the scene finally cleared, all chaos concluded, there didn't seem to be anyone left to breathe.

Total devastation. Within the room, the table was strewn with numberless forms piled like Holocaust victims. Not a single person rose up from the annihilating blow, but they were not all dead, strictly speaking.

Some, instead of having the life smitten completely out of them, had been frozen during the white flash, and now appeared as silent trophy witnesses. Upon the table stood trophies of Slippy, Krystal, and certain Space Pirates, and others, their upright figures dotting the near-absolute carnage. And each one was unique; not one of the trophies was a repetition of another.

A similar sight occupied the Battlefields beyond the transparent walls of the Room. Completely leveled except for the occasional trophy, the armies of the Smash Brothers had been massacred. There was no blood or gore at all, but no mistaking the state of the corpses for sleeping bodies; as previously mentioned, there was not a breath to be held. Huge heaps of technology made up of the scraps of wrecked aircrafts had started many fires, which slowly began to spread to consume the organic kindling surrounding it. The expressions of the trophies, from Gadd's toothy smile to Dedede's puffed-up smirk, were unbefitting of the tragic, silent environment, forced to pose as if they had not, in fact, been forced to.

It was like the very worst of nightmares, the kind that even a dark, brooding Luigi would have laughed at the possibility of, the kind that Professor U. Reeka would have always hoped for. The wind had stilled abruptly, as if the planet itself had died.

The area with the highest amount of trophies was, for some reason, the Pokémon. Most of the elemental creatures had not been left as a field of dead remains, unlike the thousands of Toads, Koopas, soldiers, animals, baddies from Dreamland and Hyrule, Kremlings, Yoshis, and every other species with fewer variations. The Pokémon, on the other hand, were made up of hundreds of rarely repeating beasts, and were like an outdoor museum of statues compared to the single red-shelled Koopa who had been transformed or the solitary poppy seed muffin-headed Toad. There was some pattern to this; that is, only those who have either been named in this story or bore some other kind of distinct quality had survived as trophies. Though which fate was worse would be difficult to say.

The Original 25, arrayed as they would be on the _Super Smash Bros. Melee_ character selection screen, were all trophies, facing the collector who now owned them.

Master laughed as no other villain in the Nintendo World had ever done; for no other had reached the point where he had entirely succeeded in his plan and had then gazed at the legions of dead enemies who had dared to stand against him. No other had managed to follow all the way through without letting some last overconfident delay prove his downfall. Yet Master was unique, for he had challenged the very law assigning ultimate superiority to good over evil, and had won.

But, as happens with every perfect plan, something ended up turning out contrary to the mastermind's perceived result. Something not even the omniscient Master could have foreseen.

Four trophies among the Original 25 shook, and then, with the shattering of some kind of plastic coating, they rocked back and forth with their trophy stands, and an encircling ring of blue light screened down them from head to toe, reanimating each hero.

Mario, Link, Kirby, and Ness, stowing away any grief for a later time, knew there was only one thing left to do. They stepped down from their floating trophy stands, the world black around them save for Master's purple aura, the Room and Battlefields hundreds of feet below. As expected, the four survivors found footing on the glowing violet shrouds, and in a line of unspoken unity, strode purposefully toward their true enemy (Kirby, although dwarfed in sized compared to Link, appeared the most vehement among them). Mario walked next to Link, to whose left was Kirby, with Ness moving forward beside him. Master watched them approach impassively, his right hand still gripping the rod and his left hand in his pocket.

Without previous rehearsal or spoken communication, the four heroes came to a simultaneous halt before Master, all hands balled into fists except Kirby's stubs and Link's sword arm, which had drawn the Master Sword with a loud metal scrape among the silence, the blade glinting confrontationally against the gleam of the blue orb and the sheen of Master's sunglasses. They all knew somewhere deep inside themselves that this was what was meant to be, that fate had conducted their actions to this point. No further explanation was felt to be necessary.

Master's smile did not change, but it was very hard now, icy and brittle. He gestured toward them with an inclination of his staff. "Interesting. Let us take this dispute to a more suitable venue, shall we?"

Not waiting for an answer, he motionlessly bade the purple swirls envelop them, and they were borne up and away to a place scarcely seen by mortal eyes.

* * *

Final Destination was as it was before: The metal grates overlapped by crossing purple strips, and the shining black sphere maintaining the platform's suspension from below. But the background was no longer speckled with bright, encouraging stars: it was just blank, empty, eternal darkness. And as Mario, Link, Kirby, and Ness materialized out of Master's dark-hued energies, the sense of unquestionable finality was even more strongly present. Each took his place on a separate quarter of the platform, glaring up at the formally dressed man hovering in the center above.

Master no longer spoke as if reciting a long-prepared speech; at this point, while his facial expression was still perfectly under control, an almost indistinguishable tinge of marvel was layered thinly in his voice.

"So…Mario…Link…Kirby…Ness…you have shown you possess something beyond that of all other creations…something even I had not expected." Then, a look of sudden comprehension came upon the godly outcast's face as he inspected each hero.. "Yes…even the perfect plan cannot accommodate the hand of fate…there is no other explanation for it. You four have been chosen by the creators, given an internal endowment that has empowered you with the ability to withstand the magic of the Smash Rod.

"I was going to let you live as part of my collection, but it is unfortunately clear that this can no longer be the case. Now, at last, we shall bring this game to the final test. I give you all one simple challenge, and if you prevail, the kingdom is yours. Here it is: _Defeat me!"_ With that, Master brought up the Smash Rod with both hands and plunged it downward, driving it into the center of the stage.

A tremendous rumbling shook the platform. Four rays of blue energy flowed from the bottom of the Smash Rod in separate directions that formed a plus sign, and with a metallic crack, Final Destination split into four identical corners, one hero upon each segment. The black sphere remained where it was, as did Master, but the corners spread farther and farther apart, steadily and mechanically, until a veritable football field separated each Smasher from the others. To each one, the rest vanished into the thick blackness, and they appeared to be alone.

None of them needed to wait long before Master's voice sounded once more, but to each one, a different message was given.

* * *

"It is time, Mario, that you meet an old acquaintance of yours….However, he may not be the same as you remember…."

From within the endless abyss surrounding the plumber, a large object rose from below the platform and clattered onto the surface before him. It was a trophy occupied by a being Mario knew all too well: Bowser. The Koopa King's features were frozen in a perpetual snarl, his claws extended viciously at either side of his face. But the eyes were solid and lifeless.

Until, that is, a ring of light encircling the beast descended gradually from the top of his horns to his spiked tail, just as had happened to the four chosen survivors. Only this ring was purple, the same sickly purple that seemed to mark everything associated with Master and his designs.

Once Bowser had been completely screened, however, he did not immediately become reanimated. The figure instead continued to glow a purple that shimmered as it made terrible changes to the life inside. The villain's scales and shell began pulsing and bulging, then seemed to crack and shrivel as the beast within emerged.

An growing mass broke through the shell of the Bowser Mario knew, abandoning the small trophy stand, and unleashed an earsplitting roar as it reached its full size. It was very similar to Bowser in shape and manner, but horribly mutated.

For starters, it was about five times as tall as the original beast. Its skin was a darker, grayer hue, the claws sharper and several inches longer. The jaw was bonier, a jutting double chin protruding beneath two huge rows of razor-sharp teeth, the gums pulled back in a nightmarish snarl. The spikes on its metal armbands and collar were larger, those on the shell exceeding a foot in length. The legs, arms, and belly were more muscular and tightened. The shell and the space around the eyes were a pale, bluish green, and the mane of red-orange hair on the head was thicker and deeper.

As it roared, the monster leaned forward toward the minute Mario, opening its jaw wide to reveal a blood-red mouth glistening with saliva. Two unnatural white sparks flashed in its eyes, the will of the original Smasher lost.

Mario gulped as he readied himself to fight.

It was Giga Bowser.

* * *

"Hero of Time, you have already met your opponent in battle—and fallen to him. Let us see just how well you can match…your own strength…."

Link jumped back in alarm as a metallic figure, gleaming all over, dropped from the darkness above and landed directly in front of him. Metal Link drew its own Master Sword, its body language seeming to convey to Link that it had killed him once, and would now easily do it a second time.

But Link's challenge wasn't quite as simple as it appeared. Materializing out of the darkness like ghosts, three shadowy silhouettes appeared to the left, right, and behind him. They were the exact outline of the Hero of Time himself, brandishing the exact same sword and, most troublingly, were prepared to mimic his every move, making it near impossible to strike at Metal Link without suffering terrible wounds in return.

Link refrained from trembling or showing any sign of weakness, forcing himself to act boldly, even though his confidence was not at its best. Eying the Dark Links with his peripheral vision, he commenced the clash of light, darkness, and steel.

* * *

"You seem to have a certain knack for bringing back old enemies, Kirby…but it would very much impress me if you managed to fare well this time around; you shall find he is more than he was the last time you met…."

Two chains of large rocks grappled onto the puffball's platform one after the other and pulled up the monstrosity they were attached to with a rocky crash. Kirby's eyes widened; the arms composed of rock chains were only the beginning.

Two equally rocky legs kept upright the sturdy, massive creature. Composing the bulk of the body was a thick, fluffy cloud. Sharp yellow spikes studded its perimeter, and embedded in an H-shape at the center of the cloud were seven bulging blue eyes. They were disturbingly vigilant, each eye moving independently unless they were all focusing on the same thing—which they were now. Between the lowest points of the rocky arms and the beginning of the cloud, two reddish slabs of rock resembled shoulder armor, their jagged top edges reaching the height of the cloud portion.

It was as if the earth had met the sky and decided to combine.

Kirby immediately recognized what at least part of this foe was. It was Kracko, the belligerent, electrically charged cumulonimbus cloud complete with spikes and a single bad-tempered eye. But this was most certainly not the same Kracko he had faced many times before; he could have sworn that he had never seen the enemy with multiple eyes or rock chains for arms and legs…

And then it hit him. This was another mutant, yet another of Professor U. Reeka's foul creations, despite the fact that the said scientist had recently met his demise. This monstrosity had been left behind, a living reminder of the horrid ways the power of creation could be abused.

The other half, the other specimen that had become the victim of Reeka's experimentations, was a special Pokémon called Regirock. This legendary creature matched the rocky limbs and the arrangement of the eyes perfectly. It looked like an alien from a sci-fi horror film, something so far from familiar that many would be terrified by the mere sight of it.

Kirby, however, was not among the many. He stared face to face with the many-eyed mutant (henceforth named Krackorock), eyes narrowed with determination, then sprung into a true David and Goliath encounter.

* * *

"You have the privilege, Ness, of meeting the last of my servant's pets. I expect it will be not much stranger than the aliens you are used to greeting back on Earth, but still…I hope you are prepared to give me a good show…."

From the thick blackness in front of Ness's platform, great, powerful wing beats could be heard before the actual mutated creature came into view. It released a shrill, ear-splitting screech as it came to a halt in the air only a few feet out from the corner section. Ness flinched, covering his ears to protect them from the high-pitched wail. Then he took a step back in automatic fear and revulsion as his eyes took in the thing he was supposed to defeat.

It was, of course, still another Reeka abomination, the fifth and final one. But this one's hybrid nature was less obvious. The entire outline—body, head, wings, and tail—was that of Ridley, the notorious Space Pirate leader killed several times by Samus, but having an illogical tendency to come back from the dead. It was shaped like a thin, skeletal dragon, the scales being bluish purple. The head was akin to a pterodactyl, only with short, very sharp teeth, and the skin stretched tightly across the bones like a starved zombie. The ribs were unhealthily visible along the torso. The two bat-like wings were spread, revealing orange segments of webbing in between the skeleton of the wing. The arms and legs were very thin but muscular all the same, and the claws were long, knife-edged instruments of death made for raking through flesh and metal alike.

The mutations were less conspicuously noticeable at first, but after a couple seconds of inspecting, they became the most frightening aspects of the beast. The scales, rather than being indistinct and tiny, were composed of hundreds of perfectly shaped, slightly elongated hexagons, visible to even the weakest of eyes. Ridley's tail, while barbed and tipped with an arrowhead-like point as usual, shone with an unnatural pinkish-white luminescence. The rest of the Space Pirate's figure flashed from bluish-purple to a deep, mixed green to a dangerous, heated red, and then repeated the cycle. Finally, the eyes were not the bloodshot yellow they had been known for in the past, but instead glinted a fierce, malicious scarlet.

Evidently, Ridley had been combined with some essence of the Aparoids, and now, before Ness, the result presented itself in its full hideousness, enraged by its own lack of control over its current state, and the cruel treatment forced upon it by the mad scientist. But it did not matter to Aparidley who paid for it.

Ness narrowed his childlike eyes and prepared his mind for the forthcoming ordeal.


	33. Chapter 24: Secret of the Room (2)

Giga Bowser spurted an immediate stream of hot, billowing flames, covering twice as much space as the normal Bowser with twice the pressure.

"Yahoo!" Mario had begun dashing toward the gigantic beast with both arms extended to the sides, his yellow cape flapping behind him. The red-capped legend bounded off the ground right where the stream of flames were about to hit, then proceeded to glide in a superhero pose, both fists extended, in a direct line approaching Giga Bowser's head. The gloved fists smashed into the center of the forehead with Herculean effort, and with a roar, the titan toppled over backwards onto its shell.

Mario fell upon the monster's face, landing kicks, punches, and fireballs onto the struggling head. But an oversized claw swept past Giga Bowser's eyes, smacking the caped crusader away like a bothersome mosquito. Mario groaned as he banged onto the surface and slid toward the edge; his body went over the side with the great momentum of the swipe, and he just managed to grip it with his hands and pull himself back onto the platform. Giga Bowser rocked back and forth on his shell and finally placed his scaly feet back onto the ground, standing with renewed fury.

Giga Bowser, with unfathomable strength, leapt at Mario in a diving belly flop, the enormous shadow darkening the plumber's dwarfed figure.

"Mama-mía…" the hero managed to murmur in a woozy voice. He threw himself to the side in an attempt to escape the hulking shadow, but Giga Bowser unexpectedly alter the angle of his descent to still squash his target. The mutated Koopa crushed Mario with his vast belly, then rose back up just enough to reach under himself with a claw and pull the Italian out. This was only done, however, so that he could hold his catch up high and then slam him back down again and again like an angry child abusing a doll. The mammoth-sized Bowser finished his rampage by grasping Mario in his other claws as well, preparing to rip his challenger asunder.

With a strained burst of effort, Mario broke out of Giga Bowser's fatal grasp by spinning himself around in a Mario Tornado. He spun to the ground, and when he landed, knelt down on one knee, heaving and gasping from pain and fatigue.

"Whoooh…whoooh…" These weary syllables came out with each gasp. He looked up at Giga Bowser, who let out something that was a mix between a wild roar and a laugh. Things looked bleak, and it was apparent that this thing could not be defeated by smashing hard enough or breaking some vital organ. The hide and shell were too tough, the instinctive beast too ferocious. He though hard during this brief respite how he could win. And then he realized that the only way to beat Giga Bowser would be to knock it off the quarter-circle platform entirely so that it could not return.

But he was so weak, and injured, and broken. How could he accomplish such an impossible task?

Giga Bowser concluded its vicious gloating session and narrowed its eyes at its victim.

* * *

Steel clashed against steel. Link (the real one) ducked to avoid the perpendicular slashes of the three Dark Links surrounding him, desperate to escape this circle of certain death. Metal Link pushed the Master Sword away with its own and stabbed forward at Link's neck. The hero jumped back (thankfully being mimicked by the mindless shadow behind him), pulled out a bomb with a lit fuse, and hurled it at his metal nemesis.

Metal Link caught the bomb with one hand like it was a baseball and then, without further consideration, crushed it in its iron grip. Link shielded his eyes as the small explosion engulfed the metal clone, but gasped in surprise when the blast faded away to reveal Metal Link unscathed. It turned slightly as if to show off the flashing Franklin Badge attached to its tunic. Taking out a solid metal bow and stringing an equally metal arrow to it, the enemy pulled back the string and sent the arrow speeding at Link.

Link held up his solid Hylian shield in defense, which stopped the pathway of the arrow. But instead of merely bouncing off, it penetrated the steel of the shield, the tip protruding an inch or two out of the backside facing Link. Ironically, the arrow had struck one of the golden triangles of the Triforce, the one representing the Triforce of Courage which the shield's owner possessed.

The Hero of Time tried backing away far enough to cause the Dark Links to fall off the edge, but the figures simply hovered over the endless darkness as if the ground continued. This would not be easy.

Metal Link sprung its Hookshot with one arm and flung a heavy metal boomerang with the other. Link parried away from the chain of the Hookshot and held up his shield again to block the boomerang. However, his head barely escaped decapitation when the sharpened device sliced straight through the shield and whizzed over his head, leaving him with two-thirds of the original shield. Knowing it was coming back, Link slashed the Master Sword up behind him without looking away from Metal Link. With a smooth cutting sound, the metal boomerang clattered to the surface of the platform in two pieces.

The clone came back at Link with a swift metal leap, bring down its sword in a vertical strike that could potentially slice the Hylian clean in two—well, not exactly clean….

With a retaliation he was sure would be more effective, Link brought back his legendary sword which was glowing white with the energy of the Triforce of Courage, the energy of knowing it was in the hands of the destined wielder, and unleashed one of his signature spin attacks with a yell. The three Dark Links leapt backward to avoid the spin, but Metal Link had been in the process of attacking.

After steadying himself from the spin, Link was disappointed to see that the only thing his roundabout slice had accomplished was to shorten in half the length of Metal Link's sword. Now its length made it more fitting to be called a dagger, but that did not make his situation much easier.

Its blank metallic eyes boring into Link's, Metal Link ushered with its broken blade for its allies to move closer. The Dark Links joined the clone in inching nearer and nearer, closing in on their target.

Even with all the training he'd had, the Hylian hero could not help but feel the panic rushing through his veins. Once this circle had shrunk into nothing, the only thing left in the center would be sliced mincemeat.

* * *

Kirby pounced forward, bringing his star-decaled hammer down from above with the intention of smacking several of Krackorock's eyes. However, as he brought the wooden weapon down, a chain of rocks moved in front of the eyes to block his hit. The hammer splintered on the stubborn stone, leaving Kirby with naught but a broken handle. Once he reached the surface, a rocky foot punted Kirby away; he flipped through the air and collapsed at the 90 degree angle spot of the broken Final Destination platform, where the center of the whole used to be. The Star Warrior pushed himself back up just in time to behold Krackorock's next assault.

From each of the yellow spikes poking out of the cloud, green electricity emitted and interlaced from point to point, completing a something-agon of wavering jagged lines. The seven eyes narrowed. Then, a bolt of green lightning shot out from each point, the intersecting streams heading for the puffball. Kirby flattened himself like a pancake in his version of a duck, causing the majority of the green electricity to pass over him. Two or three outlying bolts, notwithstanding the evasive maneuver, tilted their paths of travel and met their mark. Kirby cried out as the hostile energy coursed through him, leaving him a bit weaker than before.

The hero shook off the discomfort and followed up by puffing himself high into the air, above even the farthest reach of the rocky arms. Krackorock sent up additional jets of glowing green voltage, but each was dodged by a swift swerve of Kirby's position. Even some rocks of various sizes were hurled at the airborne Smasher, but Kirby used the largest rocks as an opportunity to touch down, let out a puff of air to catch his breath, and then push off back into the air. As for the smaller rocks, he was able to briefly open his mouth and swallow them, if not simply evade them altogether.

Once Kirby reached the position he desired directly above the slow-moving Krackorock, he morphed into a blue, angry-faced Thwomp and plummeted downward with gravity on his side. Too busy flinging rocks, the half-cloud, half-rock enemy was unable to move its rock chain arms in time to block Kirby's drop. The Thwomp pounded onto the seven eyes at an impressive velocity, provoking a strange, unearthly bellow from his target and toppling it over.

Suddenly, though, a bright coating of translucent green electricity appeared around Krackorock's body: cloud, rock limbs, and all. Despite the normally protective qualities of being a solid inanimate object, Kirby's Thwomp form was blasted away like a rejected guest being thrown out of a party. Kirby reverted to his normal appearance but was singed all over, breathing heavily, and his vision beginning to blur from the unhealthy amount of electricity coursing through his small body. He saw that this newly applied coating was not fading away and felt a great wave of dismay sweep through him. His foe was impregnable.

How would he succeed now?

* * *

Ness stared down Aparidley, waiting for the pterodactyl-like beast to make the first move. Obliging, Aparidley let out another fell screech and dived toward the boy, claws extended. Ness jumped to meet his aggressor, and when the two collided, the kid found himself pushing the mutant back through the air with watery blue PSI energy rippling from his hands. Aparidley twitched as he was sent back several yards while Ness landed safely back onto the platform.

More wary of his clearly underestimated opponent this time, Aparidley circled around Ness like a hungry vulture, Ness hastily rotating himself to keep up with the flying antagonist's movements. It was more of a blur than a solid figure he was able to see during the constant motion, but the brightness of the barbed tail allowed him to follow the figure fairly well with his strong eyesight. Round and round it went, sometimes turning about abruptly or cutting across overhead.

It lurched at him, emitting another screeching sound like a thousand cats being run over by cars at once, only much more intimidating. Ness reflexively swung at the creature with his impervious baseball bat, and the tip connected with the reptilian head, turning it away—but not before Aparidley made a long scratch along Ness's left shoulder, ripping his striped shirt. The Reeka creation fell back while the young Smasher cried out and winced as the cut on his shoulder stung and began to bleed.

Aparidley, without the slightest hesitation, opened his reptilian mouth wide, from which a foul, purple glow grew brighter and brighter. After a couple seconds, he regurgitated a blob of boiling, radioactive Plasma Breath. The boy reacted with confidence by concentrating his PSI powers to form a protective PSI magnet around his body, absorbing the Plasma Breath and transferring the substance into a form that he could use to heal up the cut on his shoulder.

Naturally, this did not please Aparidley. But the wily Space Pirate was soon hit with a clever, insidious idea. Calling upon one of the advantages of his Aparoid half, the morphed Ridley, flashing between purple, dark green, and red quite frequently now, opened his jaw once more, and this time expelled from within at least a dozen small, writhing black clumps. Ness observed with disgusted horror as the black clusters plunked onto the platform surface, their slimy surfaces hardening and their morphing features settling into shape. Each tiny black figure blinked open two ravenous red eyes, just as malicious as their host's, and unfolded similar bat-like wings, extending small tails and claws.

Aparidley seemed to smile, releasing an inhuman hum of satisfaction—which sounded much like the droning of the Aparoids—and flapped himself back over the edge, descending until he could no longer be seen, allowing his grotesque offspring to do his dirty work.

The bat-like creatures, henceforth named Mini-Ridleys, chittered and wailed spontaneously and thrust off the surface, flapping their sinewy wings with rapid effort. Ness felt like he had shrunk to the size of a worm as the virtual flock of hungry Mini-Ridleys formed a perimeter around their prey and prepared to go in for the kill.

One baseball bat and a yo-yo would not be enough.

* * *

Master laughed with his pale lips pressed together in a cold smile, observing the four Smashers' struggles from the dark center space, the purple substance swirling around him. The Smash Rod was still gripped in his left hand like a ruling scepter, his right arm at his side. He observed as each of the survivors began to falter and extended his smile, parting his lips to display his pearly teeth. Despite whatever flaw or glitch that might have occurred in order to protect these fools from his powers, his reign would soon be at hand regardless. No force in this imaginary-world-made-reality could stop him….

His eyes, through the sleek black sunglasses, caught sight of a tiny light growing below, and he heard a faint whirring noise that was quickly growing louder. Taken by surprise, Master directed his gaze below at the small hovercraft which rose with a humming vibrato, the floodlight attached to the front penetrating the thick darkness and reflecting off the sunglasses. The round vehicle rose to the level of Master's head—two individuals inside and two additional figures hovering beside it— and turned to confront him.

"How is _this_ for theatrical, sir!" Professor Elvin Gadd called out defiantly—master to master, spectacles to spectacles.

With that remark being made, the late-coming survivors split up to attend to each of the imperiled heroes. One, beating bat-like wings to remain aloft, took off toward Link's quarter. The other figure outside the vehicle, completely motionless in the air, Teleported away to Ness's quarter with a twinkle. The second passenger bounded off the yellow-and-black-striped edge, falling with style onto Mario's platform. Finally, Gadd caused the machine to rotate to the correct bearing, and sped off with the continuous whirring in the direction of the electric green glow. Master's smile vanished; he glowered as the four battles took a turn away from what he'd intended—something that seemed to be occurring increasingly often.

* * *

A white figure alighted next to Mario on one knee and adjusted the head mirror strapped to his forehead. He turned to look at the discouraged plumber with a smile.

Mario gaped. "Dr. Mario! Thank a-goodness! But…how did a-you survive?"

The doctor winked. "Well, technically, I _am_ a-you, so if you come a-back, so should I. So…" He glanced at Giga Bowser before them. "Let's a-go and finish this a-fight together!" Noticing Mario's weakened condition, the Overseer of the Dimension Conflux tossed a specific bicolored Megavitamin that bopped into the plumber and instantly seeped its energy into his body. Mario shook his head, slightly dazed, but no longer at the point of collapsing.

Mario stood up straight; the two identical Smashers nodded to each other and turned to face their greatest challenge yet.

Giga Bowser sent another widespread stream of flames gushing across the platform, flickering forward like a tidal wave. Mario and Dr. Mario simultaneously jumped toward each other, rebounded off one another's shoulders, and then soared across the surging flames below. Each tossed several of their specialized projectiles at Giga Bowser's head as they veered off to opposite sides where they were safe from the fire. Megavitamins and fireballs alike plonked onto the pale green head, the former having the greater effect. The flow of flames was cut off as Giga Bowser bellowed in rage and turned to face the original Mario to his right.

Dr. Mario grabbed the spiked tail with his sanitary gloves and, with a heave, made to force the hulk in a clockwise direction. Giga Bowser would not budge because of his great weight, but the tug certainly got the titan's attention; he roared again and spun to face the doctor as fast as his heavy legs would allow. Mario sought to distract their enemy by leaping onto the mane of red fur and delivering several punches to the head, but Dr. Mario made the mistake of trying to hold his ground _and_ onto the short tail; he swerved along with the tail as the monster attempted to turn.

Enraged by the multiple nuisances climbing around and tugging on him, Giga Bowser let loose a wild Whirling Fortress, retracting his limbs and head into his giant shell and spinning ferociously, throwing off both Marios. Mario was sent flying across the platform, but Dr. Mario, being closer to the shell, got the worst of it; his body was caught up in the whirling current and was pulverized multiple times by the spinning spikes, icy purple flames scorching his face and lab coat.

Coming to a stop, Giga Bowser popped back out of his shell. He sprung into the air at an angle, crossing most of the small platform, and executed a colossal Bowser Bomb on top of the falling doctor, pounding him into the ground.

Mario rolled and stood up, shocked at what had become of his medically trained self. He balled his fists in contempt, then waved to Giga Bowser to attract his attention.

"Yoo-hoo!" Mario tossed up his red cap, jumped and spun in the air, caught his hat mid-jump, and landed back down, pulling his cap over his head in a challenging gesture as he knelt.

Taking the bait, Giga Bowser's voice boomed as he prepared to execute the same move which had flattened Dr. Mario. Acting fast, Mario rushed forward and dived at the Koopa King, yellow cape extended in his hands. Just as the massive opponent began to lift off the ground a second time, the yellow cloth flapped across the very tip of one of the monster's giant toenails—the result being that the beast's direction was completely reversed in an instant about face.

Not realizing the trick that had been played on him until halfway through the Bowser Bomb, Giga Bowser let out another earth-shattering, guttural roar as he was forced by his own momentum to cast himself off the edge and plummet into the depths of endless darkness.

Mario rushed to the doctor's crushed form, fearing the worst. At the very least, being smashed by the backside of a giant turtle would leave considerable bruises afterward. Fortunately, as he kneeled by Dr. Mario's side, he saw his own eyes flutter open and look back at him with a faint grin.

"Get…pill…blue and a-red…"

Mario nodded and dug around through the interesting contents of the white coat until he found the requested medicine. As he tossed it at the injured hero, the pop of the Megavitamin appeared to miraculously repair and revitalize Dr. Mario's bones, causing him to bounce back up with renewed energy. The doctor put a companionable hand on Mario's shoulder. "Thanks, Mario. I suppose that a-makes us even…"

* * *

A winged blue warrior swooped down and sliced rapid strokes at the three Dark Links, cutting across the dark substance with the element of surprise. The silhouettes of the legendary hero flinched from the blows and rolled away from Link, staring warily at the unexpected newcomer. Link and his metal rival looked up to behold the masked swordsman Meta Knight, his two penetrating yellow eyes connecting meaningfully with those of the real Link.

Metal Link, seeing the trouble an airborne opponent presented, motioned with its sword for its allies to take care of the newcomer and leave the two of them alone. Turning to Link, it resumed their interrupted swordfight, only now it was one-on-one, an evenly matched duel.

Meta Knight bounced up and down with each beat of his bat-like wings and maneuvered expertly from place to place, skillfully dodging the Dark Links' swords and landing jabs of his own. With a smooth cut, one of the Dark Links' heads fell off, and the figure vanished into purple smoke. However, as he did this, another of the black swords clipped Meta Knight's wing, almost tearing through the webbing. The Star Warrior winced but endured the pain, and he continued sparring with a distorted flight pattern.

Hard blows, right and left, above and below, took every bit of concentration the Hero of Time had. Since Metal Link's sword had been broken to about a third its original length, it was like dueling a knife-wielding assassin; one faulty move could prove fatal. From every angle, if there had been a camera rotating around the epic clash, both sides demonstrated great skill with perfect dodges, footwork, and counterstrikes.

One straight jab from the dagger-sized blade pierced Link's already-reduced shield, bringing him into close contact with the clone. The metal was jammed in the shield, as he realized upon attempting to remove the enemy's weapon with a tug. In that brief moment of distraction, Metal Link brought back his unoccupied iron fist and smacked Link's cheek with an extremely heavy punch. The green-garbed Hylian staggered back, nearly falling over, but by pulling up with his shield arm, he restored his stability. Before his killer could react, Link swung the shining Master Sword down onto the metal wrist holding the jammed sword, cleaving straight through the iron flesh; Metal Link was left with one hand. Link smiled in triumph; his enemy was weaponless.

Not even glancing at its severed hand, the relentless clone shook its head, as if dismissing the thought that this fight was by any means over. Its remaining hand flicked out, grabbing the blade of the Master Sword. With an effortless bend of its wrist, the metal minion twisted half the blade upward so that the tip was now pointing at Link's face; it then released its grip and stepped back, as if waiting for Link to do something.

It dawned upon the Hero of Time what this had come to. Feeling vague remorse for his marred weapons, especially the Master Sword, he hesitated, then dropped the fated sword to the side. Letting go of the Hylian Shield (still with Metal Link's blade and wrist sticking out of it), he flexed his fingers and rolled up his sleeves, hoping his hand-to-hand skills would be sufficient to defeat this metal monster.

Meta Knight chopped off another of the Dark Link's heads, the headless body dissolving into purple shrouds. The last silhouetted swordsman suddenly charged at him and leaped up, bringing its black sword down from above its head.

Allowing the injured wing to sway his figure to the left, Meta Knight spun past the Dark Link and drove Galaxia into its back with a majestic grace. He turned his attention to the Link-Metal Link duel, which had just progressed to the swordless stage.

Link gasped as despite his best efforts, he found Metal Link gripping the front of his tunic and lifting him up with its one remaining hand. He struggled, but the iron grip was just too solid, too immovable; after all, he was basically dealing with a living statue here.

He was liberated spectacularly when a small orange twister forced Metal Link to relinquish its grip as the whirlwind revolved swiftly about the helpless clone, delivering innumerable scratches. Meta Knight spun lithely out of the tiny tornado, and with a sweep of his Dimensional Cape, he seemed to vanish from sight—only to reappear behind Metal Link and strike with a quick, forceful swipe. The clone was pushed across the platform—only to be met by Meta Knight again, who had teleported once more to swipe at his enemy once more. This process continued, Metal Link flying across the small stage with the uncatchable Star Warrior flashing in and out of sight many times: in front, above, or behind. At one point, the Franklin Badge clattered onto the ground, either unable to take all the jarring movements or dislodged by Meta Knight's sword. Finally, with the masked warrior's last slash, Metal Link careened off the edge, gravity working against it as it fell.

Acting quickly, Link aimed a bomb and chucked it downward; both he and Meta Knight watched as the small explosion signified the metal creation's utter (though slightly overdone) obliteration.

Link turned to his companion with respect. "You're very skilled with a blade, my friend."

"Yes?" Meta Knight's round yellow eyes seemed to twinkle and then roll. "Well, you're not half bad at stealing kills yourself."

* * *

Professor E. Gadd and his hovercraft zoomed overhead and came back around beside Kirby a couple feet above the surface. The leader of the Nintendo Alliance grinned toothily at the puffball.

"Greetings, Kirby! It's good to see that I'm not too late. So...what's the predicament?"

"That." Kirby motioned with his stubby arms at the impregnable Krackorock mutant before them.

Gadd nodded, rubbing his chin. "I see…you can't touch it because of the electric field it generated around itself. Hm…" The scientist thought quickly, as they only had the time it took for Krackorock to recollect itself enough to attack again.

The professor snapped his finger. "Got it! Watch this, and be ready to swallow some _really_ jittery food with that mouth of yours. Ready?" Kirby nodded anxiously. "Well, here goes…"

Gadd started fiddling with the control panel on his hovercraft covered with a complex array of switches, buttons and lights. The floodlight switched off and folded itself mechanically into the yellow-black stripes. Gadd entered another sequence of commands, and folding out of another spot on the front of the hovering vehicle appeared a tall, thin strip of metal that ran through several closely-spaced metal disks and narrowed about six inches from the top into a spherical tip. Extending up from there was an even thinner, needle-like point, which was topped off with another smaller ball, this one being glassy and red. It was like a laser from a sci-fi movie.

At that moment, Krackorock found the time ripe for continuing his rampage. A single huge beam of green electricity burst from the eye-dotted center of the cloud, intent on decimating Kirby.

However, partway through its journey, the thick beam veered off course and, with a zap, was absorbed into the red point of Gadd's thin antenna. The special lightning rod (for that was what it was) transferred the electricity into blue waves of energy which coursed back down the rod, over and around the disks, and disappeared into the hovercraft.

The professor nodded to Kirby and pressed several more buttons. The electricity ran back up the lightning rod, and from the red ballpoint, a concentrated jet of the same green electricity shot straight into Kirby's open mouth.

The Smasher swallowed quickly and, with a dramatic spin, transformed into Spark Kirby. Neon green strands of electric current flowed atop his head like energized hair. Now, he knew, Krackorock's barrier wouldn't affect him.

The said monster, infuriated by the lack of pain caused by its Thunderbolt, started up a constant barrage of Rock Throws toward its oppressors. A volley—nay, a virtual rainfall of boulders and smaller rocks began to descend upon the heroes.

Spark Kirby shattered most every projectile coming his way with flashing green sparks and set out puffing and bouncing across the larger boulders on a quest to reach Krackorock. Sometimes he found a gap that allowed him to suck in a rock and spit it out as a bright star in the direction of the seven eyes embedded in the cloudy torso.

"Gadzooks!" the bespectacled scientist cried as a basketball-sized stone crashed against the side of his hovercraft, shaking the entire vehicle and everything in it. He dashed to the controls and caused it to back away from the Rock Slide and up to where he would be safely out of range. Seeing Kirby's hazardous endeavors down below, he fired red lasers from the guns now unconcealed at the underside of the mechanism, which helped dissolve many of the obstacles in Kirby's way.

The Star Warrior reached the desired position above Krackorock and, once again, transformed and plummeted toward the eye formation. This time, however, he had changed strategically into a spike ball. Spikes. Eyes.

Had it been capable of making sound, Krackorock would have been producing a very loud, agonized one when the spike-studded sphere struck the eye formation, unaffected by the electric barrier and piercing most of the eyes. The bombardment of rocks ceased as Krackorock shook itself furiously side to side, attempting to disconnect the thing impaling its vision. Kirby stuck to it like a leech, determined to drive his enemy to its final desperate measure. Which he did.

A debris-filled Self-Destruct blasted apart the Reeka experiment, catapulting the spiky sphere in a steep arch.. Amidst the destruction, the Gadd caused a spring-hinged claw to shoot out of the hull, catch the object out of the superheated air, and place it gently into the craft beside him.

Kirby shook himself out of his spike ball and discarded his Spark Copy Ability. He looked up at Gadd with a dazed smile

Gadd smiled back wearily. "That…was…"

"FUN!" the puffball blurted out.

* * *

The swarming Mini-Ridleys all darted at the solitary psychic boy at once. Ness closed his eyes, expecting a quick and painful death.

The spawn of Aparidley suddenly froze in midair, completely immobilized, rotating slowly like Cornish Pixies. Next to Ness Teleported his powerful mentor: Mewtwo. The artificial Pokémon's eyes glowed with a fierce, violet glint as he maintained control over the vile, rasping creatures. Ness looked at him in awe. The white head, tinged the faintest shade of purple, nodded ever so slightly, and then the telekinetic kid knew exactly what to do.

Hopping from creature to creature, Ness smacked the life out of each of the Mini-Ridleys by means of his baseball bat, yo-yo, and PK Fire. The last batch of five he saved so as to disintegrate with a massive green PK Flash. He finished his task and sought eye contact with the now-relaxed Mewtwo, who returned the connection with an approving air that seemed to say, _Well done, young one. I am impressed…_.Ness beamed, but they had no more time to congratulate one another, for with great, heaving wing beats, Aparidley had reentered the playing field, more hot-tempered than ever, displeased to find not only the human still intact and all its foul creations extinguished, but another being beside him as well.

The two Smashers confronted the final Reeka experiment with a confidence bolstered by the strong connection between their minds, invigorating their senses and their drive to succeed.

Aparidley bared its teeth and, without warning, assaulted both Smashers from a completely different, unexpected angle. A high, buzzing screech filled their minds and their ears, even though the mutant was not emitting any actual sound from its mouth.

"Aaahh!" Ness yelled and fell to his knees, holding his head. The droning was overwhelming his mind, destroying his sanity. It was like a concentrated swarm of bees buzzing through an extremely loud microphone placed directly in his ear—only worse. He couldn't concentrate; he didn't know how. Beside him, Mewtwo was evidently suffering similar mental attacks, the Pokémon's eyes tightened strenuously, vibrating like he was, if a bit less.

Through the deafening, commanding drone, Mewtwo managed to convey one brief message. Something that he had taught Ness before in Fourside City—what to do when your mind was under attack.

 _Distract…yourself!_

Before Ness could attempt anything, Aparidley seized upon their moment of weakness to lunge forward and, with a real screech, snatch the cat Pokémon with its sharp claws. Both heroes had been caught off-guard. The mutant spun as it came back around, ascending into the air with Mewtwo in its grasp.

 _Mewtwo…NO!..._ Ness struggled ever more desperately against the maddening drone, desperate to aid his mentor. Trying to follow Mewtwo's instruction, he attempted to focus his mind on other things: _victory against Metal Samus in the fortress…his first escape from Master Hand's room…the defeat of the evil alien Giygas…_

The buzzing lessened ever so slightly, but then grew louder again. Those memories weren't working. Through his unfocused eyes, he glimpsed Aparidley smashing Mewtwo onto the platform without mercy.

He shook his head. He needed to find stronger memories. Mewtwo had few positive memories to recall if any; his life had been so miserable and isolated, it was no wonder he had a hard time now. So it was up to Ness. He strained his mind, delving deeper into his stash of recollections: _his friends Paula, Jeff, and Poo…_ The droning lessened a lot more this time, allowing him to think a bit more clearly. _The good times they had all shared…his home in Onett…his fellow Smashers, who had recently become his close friends as well…_ The noise had dropped to about half its original volume. It was working! _The time he'd thought Bomberman was imitating a constipated butterfly…the lessons Mewtwo had taught him about the power of emotions, especially love..._ Fainter and fainter, the parasitic Aparoid assault was nearly gone. _His love for everyone he knew: his family, friends, and all of the Smash Brothers…his love for the peace in the Nintendo Universe—its marvelous beauty, its wondrous phenomena, its freedom from corrupt rule…_ Then it was over.

Ness stood up straight, completely revitalized. He gasped as he beheld Aparidley crushing Mewtwo beneath its claws against the ground, preparing for a final Plasma Breath to finish him off. The Ness knew there was no time left; no physical or magical attack on his part could stop the abominable thing in time. So, in a spurt of wild improvisation, he did the only thing he could think of: reverse the process.

Focusing his mental strength on the head of Aparidley, he pushed with all his might, concentrating every ounce of power he had on sending the horrible drone back at its host. Ness had barely survived the mental assault. This monster looked remarkably like a pterodactyl, and from what he knew about dinosaurs, he recalled that they were supposed to have very small brains.

Nothing was happening. Mewtwo was going to die. Ness groaned and redoubled his efforts, if that was possible, willing with every fiber of his being for his impromptu retaliation to work. His fiery hope began to dwindle.

A sickening explosion splattered mutated purple flesh as well as bits of bone throughout the vicinity. Ness's face and clothes caught a fair amount of it. A huge thud resounded as Aparidley's body tipped over backward, the head completely gone. The neck bone stuck out of the headless corpse, odorous steam rising from it. Ness wrinkled his nose, nearly gagging from the putrid stench. The same inhuman screech from when the Black Rose was destroyed sounded again now. Ness then realized something Ridley and the Aparoids had in common, what perhaps had attracted Ulysses Reeka to the idea of biologically combining these two particular specimens.

Both seemed to require being vanquished several times before _truly_ dying.

But fortunately, the last of the mad scientist's abusive experiments had been brought to an end.

Remembering his maimed mentor, the boy rushed forward, filled with worry as he came upon Mewtwo's injured figure. Several bones appeared to be broken including his right shoulder, a few ribs, and left leg. A deep gash on his head and another on his chest looked very severe—not bleeding, although that was most likely because he didn't have blood. Not in the traditional sense, anyway.

"Mewtwo!" Ness cried, leaning over his mentor and tenderly touching the Pokémon's chest with his fingertips.

Mewtwo breathed with difficulty but had the strength to push himself off the ground and put a paw on the boy's shoulder. His voice was weak, but still steady. _I'll survive…_

Both master and apprentice looked toward the center of the darkness, where their ultimate enemy waited.

 _…for now._


	34. Chapter 25: Nightmare

Chapter 25: Nightmare

* * *

 **M** oments after the four challenges sent by Master had been vanquished, the rounded quarters of Final Destination, without warning, jerked into motion and floated back toward the center. The victors readied themselves for whatever came next, and Master awaited them silently. Finally, after several long, drawn-out seconds, Final Destination clicked into place and was reformed once more.

Master did not look happy.

His pretense of civility extinguished, the swirls of purple substance flared angrily around the man, somewhat of a visible manifestation of his emotions. His grip tightened around the Smash Rod; the sphere at the top of it was now only filled about a third of the way with the blue gas-liquid.

The Smashers and the other survivors noticed this.

Still, his voice remained calm. Dangerously calm. "Your petty victories against my pawns have amused me, heroes, but this has gone on long enough. You have evaded defeat for the last time. I…even _I_ …grow weary of this game. And now, I intend to end it."

Gadd, observant as always, whispered to the others. "I may be wrong, but I believe the amount of blue substance contained within that sphere signifies how much power he has. It's possible that we need only endure until his powers are depleted—"

"Ha!" Master had apparently overheard the professor's hushed words of encouragement. "You think attempting to exhaust the Smash Rod of its power will allow you even the slightest chance of prevailing against me?" He held out the magnificent golden rod before them. "But you do not even know what this is. This…is more than a mere power source. It is the scepter of ultimate authority in This World, and whoever holds it possesses sole sovereignty over these lands. It was another idea dismissed by the creative team from my dimension. Little did they know that by exiling me and my ideas to the Nintendo Universe, they unknowingly sent with me every other rejected idea ever to be concocted, including this." The sunglasses flashed at them, and Master's lips stretched in a cruel smile. "Would you like to know which of your friends are rejects as well?"

"Stop right there, sir!" Professor E. Gadd's resonant voice pointedly refrained from calling him Master. "Now, you either give back everything and everyone you've taken away from us and leave our world forever, or we _will_ destroy you! You decide."

Master glared down at the short leader below him. "I will finish my explanation prior to ending this so you may grasp the full extent of your cause's hopelessness, little scientist.

"The first third of the Smash Rod's energy was used gradually since the first Smash Tournament, allowing me to split my identity between the Hands and oversee the growth of my armies. The second, recently depleted portion, as you can now see, was spent in arranging this climactic moment we are now experiencing, and in bringing forth the four challenges I presented to you. The main reason so much of its strength was used is because of the complexity of creating Giga Bowser out of that pathetic Koopa. So, as I shall now demonstrate…" The blue sphere began to glow brighter. "…you can hardly comprehend how easy it will be for me to kill all of you with this much power at my command. _The end has come!_ "

The top of the Smash Rod produced another blinding white flash, which preceded another change of setting. This time, however, the change was mind-boggling, for their surroundings were not the only thing to change.

* * *

In place of the boundless darkness: a rotating, cylindrical chasm of glowing green, blue, and red tiles, the colors separated into rows that reversed directions every few seconds. The chasm swirled around them so quickly, so chaotically that it was impossible to tell whether one was ascending or descending—a truly dizzying sensation.

The platform of Final Destination was nowhere to be seen; the eight Nintendonians found themselves devoid of a surface to stand on. It followed, then, that while Gadd, Kirby, Meta Knight, and Mewtwo were not troubled by this shift, Mario, Dr. Mario, Link, and Ness found themselves suddenly groundless. And since the environment seemed neither to pull them down nor up, they were in a state similar to open space, with nothing to push them one way or the other. This was a very difficult position for the latter four, so the professor took it upon himself direct the hovercraft toward them and pull them aboard. Thus, what remained were Mewtwo and Meta Knight flying solo (although both were injured) and the remaining six grouped together in the scientist's small vehicle. Not to mention the monstrous thing in the center.

What first caught their eye was, well, its _eye_. A huge, disturbing eyeball the size of a small blimp, colored a reddish-purple with only a black slit for a pupil. No blood vessels or eyelid—just strain marks around the black like the Eye of Sauron. Although several of those present had faced creatures with enormous eyes before—Mario, Link, and Kirby at the very least—nothing compared to the savage gaze of the transformed Master's eye.

Sprouting from the back of the eye were two massive, leathery black bat wings, which could most likely envelope a skyscraper with their vastness. The only other feature of Master's reincarnation was the two skeletal white arms with four equally bony fingers each, the two fleshless hands curling in and out in a motion eerily reminiscent of Master and Crazy Hand.

This time, there was no lecture, no roar, no hesitation from the transformed exile. No time to wonder at their surroundings or let the terror of their enemy's appearance sink in.

Beating his great wings, Master lashed out at the hovercraft, intent on tearing it apart with his skeleton hands.

Those inside retaliated in defense, doing the best they could to hold back the Behemoth (which it shall be referred to as). The Marios hurled fireballs and Megavitamins at the eye like there was no tomorrow—which, if they lost, might very well be true. Link shot arrows—fire, ice, and standard—at the same target. Ness used PK Thunder repeatedly; the professor controlled the craft and fired red lasers; and Kirby, at a loss, did nothing, but was prepared to help when needed. From behind, Mewtwo sent Shadow Balls, grunting as the wound on his shoulder burned with each toss, while Meta Knight seemed to be creeping up stealthily behind the Behemoth, waiting for the most opportune moment.

The eye seemed to flash a slightly lighter hue with each attack, so damage was certainly being done. What wasn't certain was whether at this rate, enough damage would ever be done to deplete the Behemoth's life force, which would likely be a very high amount. The Adversary Analyzers, oddly enough, had ceased to function within this bizarre, surreal cylinder.

The Behemoth appeared, for a while, to be held back by the constant stream of projectiles, and as long as this seemed to be working, the survivors would never cease. But it folded its gigantic wings over the vulnerable center, and then all further projectiles simply bounced off the black appendages. Sprouting from below the encased area of the wings, a swarm of bat creatures, identical to their creator except for their size, scattered out in all directions. The baseball-sized eyes came in every color of the rainbow: red, orange, green, blue, indigo, and violet. They would have been little more than a nuisance to the Smashers except that from their eye slits they produced small beams of burning energy with the color of the beam corresponding to that of the eye. Often, the multitudinous array of colors got mixed up with the spinning surroundings. The Behemoth, meanwhile, remained enfolded within its wings.

One could not ask for a more chaotic situation.

As the bat creatures reached them, the hovercraft's occupants fought them off ferociously. All watched out for the multicolored beams as well as the tiny, ravaging skeleton hands that tore at their faces, cloths, and hair. Mario executed Mario Tornadoes and reflected beams back with his yellow cape. Dr. Mario stuck to his Megavitamin-throwing, fending off the swarm with the same skill he applied to fend off the Viruses back home. Gadd had a harder time, being as defenseless in close combat as he was, but despite being singed and scraped in many spots, he managed to punch in a combination on the control panel to call upon the lightning rod, which zapped some of the abominations with the stored green electricity. Link slashed at them with the bent Master Sword like Keese, but because of the difficulty of using such a deformed weapon, he also suffered from several beam hits. Ness applied a wide variety of yo-yo tricks which spun through his legs, under his arms, and over his head. As often as he could, the boy also activated a PSI magnet whenever possible to recover from the fight against Aparidley. Kirby, perhaps, was the most prepared this time. After sucking in and swallowing one of the creatures, Beam Kirby (with a red-and-yellow jester's hat) rotated chains of spherical lasers above him like the propeller of a helicopter, taking out several enemies with each revolution.

Meta Knight, dismissing his injured wing like it was nothing, made his move. Diving gracefully below the Mini-Behemoths coming his way, he came back up where the Behemoth's eye was still vulnerable even within the folds of its wings: the underside. The winged warrior stabbed his golden blade into the shiny reddish-purple jelly with vigor.

Mewtwo, meanwhile, had taken advantage of the headache accompanying his wounds to cause all Mini-Behemoths in the vicinity to explode grotesquely from a mind-shattering Psychic attack. Finding the pathway clear, he moved closer until he spotted Meta Knight's stunt. Eager to return some of the pain Aparidley had excruciated upon him to its sender, Mewtwo focused his telekinetic powers on the golden sword, and with an intended jerk, shoved the blade with his mind deeper and deeper into the eye's interior. Ignoring the Behemoth's forthcoming reaction, he kept pushing it through until it penetrated through the other end.

The Behemoth unfurled its wings in agony, the black pupil narrowing as it shook with pain. Unfortunately, now that such a deadly blow had been inflicted on it, Master's reincarnation became so reckless and vengeful that it no longer gave heed to its own survival. The winged titan suddenly began shining with all the colors of the rainbow, its features now shimmering into the conflux of mesmerizing brilliance. From what the heroes could tell, it was about to fulfill its words as Master: " _The end has come…."_

Self-destruction. Only this would surely be much worse than Krackorock's or an Electrode's. It would kill them all.

A preliminary ring of kaleidoscopic energy pulsed in all directions. It billowed inescapably through the heroes, tossing them all head over heels and filling every spot on their bodies with an indescribable sting, like a wasp sting that strikes everywhere and lingers afterward. So tremendous was the pain that it was beyond screams; it was all they could do to hold themselves together with whatever willpower they had left.

The hovercraft, on the other hand, did not have the willpower of a living being. The surging ring of rainbow force incinerated the machine, generating a terrible explosion that hurtled the six occupants into the open space.

It was the worst, most unbearable moment of all their lives.

And the Behemoth continued to shine brighter. It was going to do it again, except bigger. Fatally.

Just before the Behemoth was able to bring about the end, a shining yellow light shot from the Hero's Bow into the direct center of the eye. The Light Arrow glimmered effulgently with the endowed magic of the Triforce of Courage, and just when all was about to be lost, it pierced the shimmering, suicidal Behemoth.

Everything shattered around them: the ever-stretching cylinder of spinning tiles, the remaining bat creatures, the Behemoth itself.

As was beginning to happen more often than seemed reasonable, the scene changed yet again in a flurry of color.

* * *

They had returned to the barren, desolate room around which the Smash Brothers lay dead or incapacitated. The walls were solid once more, no longer transparent. The eight survivors stood upon the top of Master Hand's Fortress, waiting to see if it was all over, although most of them doubted it—not with their great enemy's pattern of never relenting until he had gotten what he wanted. _Everything_ he wanted.

Sure enough, not a minute passed by before the ominous amaranthine shroud swirled into existence before them. No longer bothering with a masking silhouette, Master stepped out from the shroud into the air with an unfathomable expression on his cold, hard face, complemented by the flat-topped sunglasses covering his eyes. However, the man who was more than a man could not conceal the fact that he was visibly trembling, his tight grip on the Smash Rod shaking. But it was not out of fear or even anger. It was of pure disbelief, of a person whose life has been shattered by something that person had never for a second considered possible. His control over his countenance held, but a shadow of the emotions exploding inside him leaked out most noticeably.

The Smash Rod itself had also changed. Now, not a single wisp or drop of the blue matter remained within the glass orb bearing the Smash insignia. Evidently, transforming into the Behemoth and exerting such abysmal power in this form had rendered the golden scepter juiceless. A sudden leap of joy sprung in the survivors' hearts; Master's power was gone. They had won.

Then, unexpectedly, Master flung the drained Smash Rod with alarming, inhuman strength straight downward. The survivors flinched as the symbol of authority crashed against the battlements, the orb shattering and the rod rent in twain. Master's eyes bore into those who had so repeatedly defied him.

The voice was so very resonant; deep; and now, passionate. "You… _you…_ " He pointed a pale, shaking finger at them. "You defy every one of the few rules that define This World. Because of a little unforeseen teamwork, you make sense out of the impossible, rebuking every form of death I throw at you, no matter how formidable. This cannot have been done by you mortals alone; destiny must have had a hand in this. It seems, for now, to be on your side." It was almost like he was trying to convince himself of this.

"So, you force me to upset the balance of fate and reality." A gradual, maddened grin appeared on his face. "It looks like I must show you my true, core self. For I have… _another_ …name. It appears I must utilize the full extent of my power in order to claim this war.

"The Smash Orb means nothing to me, not when we absolutely must get down to it. I need no tool, nor army, nor pulses of destruction, nor even my imagination to prove my superiority. This World will bow to me one way or another, and if this must be the way in which my reign begins, then _so be it!"_

As it had prior to the fight against the Hands, the entire Room, even the Battlefields surrounding it, began rumbling and vibrating. Only this time it was on a much larger scale—like the difference between a 4 and an 8 on the Richter Scale. Giant objects on the desk, shelves, and table rattled and shook violently. Trophies shuddered like toy action figures, some even tipping over onto the array of bodies. The desk lamp the size of a fully grown Evergreen tree wobbled dangerously and fell over the edge. A devastating crash accompanied by a great electrical explosion gave birth to a large fire which quickly spread to be promoted to the rank of inferno.

The deep velvet substance swirled more and more violently around the single trembling figure before the survivors' eyes, forming a unified direction and purpose and developing some sort of current. Master's dark green hair whipped in the wind as his entire body became obscured by the growing flux.

"He'll never quit until we've lost, will he?" Professor E. Gadd said, as awed and horrified as the other seven around him, all of them standing agape. Kirby's eyes were the widest of all.

From no apparent source, glowing white star shapes mixed in with the spinning purple current. It had now grown so dense and strong that Master's outline could not longer be seen within; the bottom end slanted into a point, forming a man-sized cyclone speckled with the stars. The cyclone increased in size at an unnatural rate. The heroes waited for the swelling tornado to cease its growth, but it seemed to just keep on expanding and expanding.

More objects succumbed to the titanic tremors, and the great blaze spread, licking all the way up the shelves to the ceiling, and encircling the room like a horde of rioting demons. The entire room was now aflame except for the table in the middle.

At last, upon retreating only slightly before the limit of its growth—the ceiling—the great purple funnel ceased its expansion, although still spinning much, much faster than any eye could ever follow. A low, sinister laugh, deeper than Master's had ever been, echoed unmistakably, dreadfully, in the survivors' ears. Dark, curved shoulder armor formed atop the living tornado's wide edges. A massive head, only an indistinct shadow at first, slowly materialized into view.

It was indisputably the head of Master, but had undergone terrifying alterations. The giant, pale, grayish-blue head faced them, the double-chin jutting out in the same direction. The sunglasses had reshaped into two obtuse triangles, the tips pointing opposite directions. In place of the hair was a midnight blue cap covering from the forehead up; embedded in the center of it was a round red jewel with golden lining. A similar but larger jewel was located beneath the chin, a pendant hanging from a golden chain, appearing to hang over the edge of the cyclone. Two imposing golden prongs curved up like antlers from each side of the blue cap, only they did not split or veer in any direction that would ruin the symmetry, instead ending in perfect points, giving the appearance of a strange crown. The odd thing was that the spinning tornado had the appearance of a great cloak, as if it were both at the same time. It was like looking at a spinning wheel, but seeing a different picture that was an illusion of an image formed by the spinning. He looked like some kind of vampirish apparition from one's darkest dreams, like—well, there was no description that fit better.

A nightmare.

Pushing out through the cloak-tornado appeared two giant, white-gloved hands. Master and Crazy Hand were essentially back, only they were no longer independent, for the grand scope of their host could now be seen. Not much about their movement patterns seemed to have changed.

But something shocking happened. Purple flames erupted in countless spots on the hands, and the white began burning and withering away, disintegrating in small scraps. Almost as if rubber gloves were being scalded off the skin beneath. Revealing the true Hands.

They were unbearably horrid and grotesque. Wrinkled purple skin, like some kind of aged alien's. Long, obsidian-like fingernails, sharp enough to pierce through an unbreakable object. No wonder Master wore gloves.

Ness cringed at the repulsive sight. If there really was such a thing as the "Hand of Fate," he sure hoped this wasn't it.

Once this spectacle was established, the sunglasses shattered, the pieces being caught up in the tornado body, revealing two gleaming slits that emanated startling, unearthly whiteness. At the same time, the circular wall of flames around the room changed color in a flash to an almost blindingly bright purple-white. And despite this, the vast chamber became remarkably dark; every unoccupied inch of air was completely black, like some sort of apocalyptic eclipse.

A voice boomed across the room like a succession of thunderclaps.

"I…AM THE EMBODIMENT OF FEAR IN THIS WORLD. **I AM NIGHTMARE**. I HAVE ALWAYS EXISTED, EVEN AFTER KIRBY FIRST DEFEATED ME. SINCE THAT TIME, UNTIL NOW, YOU HAVE KNOWN ME AS MASTER AND CRAZY HAND. THE NINTENDO WORLD BELONGS TO ME. YOU STAND IN MY WAY. YOU WILL DIE."

Dr. Mario remembered something he had said back in his world. " _I happened to have just gotten a-back from_ Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland. _The first Kirby was a-babbling about some enemy mix-up that occurred some a-years ago…"_ Well, that explained it.

Surely, now, the end had truly come.

And then Nightmare descended upon them.

Their ultimate foe apparently didn't mind destroying his own fortress in the process. Spreading out the folds of his shifting cloak, completely altering the shape of the tornado, Nightmare fell slowly toward them, tilting like a phantasmagorical tsunami, avalanching downward.

Soon, none of the survivors could see anything but the restless purple swirls. Each of them looked about them for some means of escape, some way of overcoming this; it seemed terribly wrong for them to lose now, after getting so far, so close to liberating their land forever. But it would never come to pass.

As the Cloaked Nightmare enveloped them, the last heroes did not shy away from looking death in the face to the very end.

Mario and Dr. Mario leapt in a final Super Jump Punch.

Link dived forward with his bent Master Sword, plunging into the belly of the beast with a broken hope that he did not know how to respond to otherwise.

Meta Knight held up his blue cape to the eye level on his mask and murmured, "So it ends…"

Professor E. Gadd carefully removed his swirling glasses to reveal small, squinty eyes, and gazed at their doom with a sigh of defeat. He had taken down the foremost servant, his own cousin; but the master, Nightmare, it seemed, had turned out to be impossible to overthrow after all. Well, they had given it their all. They had done their best.

Ness stood by Mewtwo, stock still. _What now?_ he asked, not allowing reality to settle upon his conscience.

Mewtwo did not look away from the purple blanket descending upon them. His eyes, though, were without the flame they'd always held. _I…do not know. I am sorry, Ness. You are and always have been the strongest, sincerest mind I have ever taught._

Ness just nodded, trying not to think too hard.

Kirby blinked in denial. He had already defeated Nightmare, a long, long time ago. It didn't seem fair that such an enemy was allowed to do this, to take away their victory through sheer immortality. Was this really what the creators of the Nintendo World had intended by secluding such an evil, heartless soul here? To annihilate and conquer them?

Just before the blanket of death completely domed over the battlements, a small spark burst through the ceiling of the giant, cursed Room, and shot below the purple darkness. Nightmare caused the fortress to collapse on itself, stones snapping and crashing over each other in a race down to the surface. Whatever was left inside—or atop—the building was seen no more. For several minutes Nightmare continued to fall upon Master Hand's fortress, the two monstrous hands pounding through the architecture like a sand castle.

The same white dot, tiny in comparison to Nightmare's towering tornado, whizzed out from beneath the demolition scene as everything was caving in around it. But now there was more to it; a single figure rode the speck.

Kirby steered the Warp Star sharply around in a direct course for the Cloaked Nightmare's head. Under normal circumstances, the Star Warrior could only summon a Warp Star when the sky was clear and he was outside to receive it. Yet some whim of fate had brought it to him at the direst of needs; he might never understand why. But it appeared that he, the hero of Dreamland, had been chosen for some unknown reason to slip away from death. Alone.

So, as the last free hero, Star Warrior, and Smasher of the Nintendo World, Kirby sped to meet the end one way or another: his, or Nightmare's.

No slowing down, no words, no hesitation. Kirby curved around on the most reliable of Air Riders so that his path of travel approached the fiend's theatre screen-sized face. The very last glimmer of rebellion.

Nightmare spotted the speeding spark only when it was within a hundred yards from his face. The ageless Master, eNeMeE, hastened to bring up his two purple Hands to stop the puffball, needless though it might have been.

Now glowing with golden light, Kirby swerved as little as possible and evaded the Hands' attempts to crush him. The Warp Star neared, and, with no extravagant flashes or explosions, seared into Nightmare's pure white eye slit, which was so large that the Warp Star and its rider vanished completely inside.


	35. Chapter 26: Aftermath & Epilogue

Chapter 26: Aftermath

* * *

 _ **T**_ _ **WO DAYS LATER**_

* * *

A blue-spotted Toad worked his way through the wreckage of the Battlefields, navigating through the numberless bodies heaped up almost as far as the eye could see. He circumvented the remains of a great Venasaur, its bushy fern leaves torn and singed, smelling like a rotting tree. Plodding onward, he continued to step over deceased Smash Brothers until he ran into someone else—a nomadic stranger from the Great Sea known as Old Man Ho Ho, who always carried with him a rusty old telescope, with which he observed nearly every sight the world had to offer. He was doing so now, but looked away from his sightseeing to spot the Toad nearby.

"Ahoy there! Not lost, are you, lad?" He gave a friendly but somehow solemn wave.

The Toad walked over to the old man. "No, sir. I just…can't believe what's happened to our world. Any of it." His eyes were downcast.

Ho Ho nodded understandingly. "Yes, a lot has happened here. Many have died, and the world of Nintendo will never be the same."

"Hey, fellows!"

But this was neither of their voices. A third figure stumbled over to the pair, about half the man's height, wearing a white lab coat and clear-rimmed spectacles, and being completely green in color, for he was a frog.

"Er...my name's Beltino. Beltino Toad. See, my son Slippy was in this war. And I couldn't help but overhear your rather, well, pessimistic conversation. But I think you guys should consider that it's not all bad. Because…well, you know." He seemed too skittish to say it.

"Because we're alive?" Ho Ho said. "Because our world hasn't been destroyed?" He raised an eyebrow. "Because we won?"

"Yes, yes," Beltino said rather quickly. "Now that our land is at peace, now that Master Hand—er, I mean, _Nightmare_ —has been destroyed for good, we have no reason to fear. So rejoice, comrades! We can now rebuild our kingdoms, start a new beginning."

But the Toad wasn't quite so appreciative. "But…that's just it. Starting over, reconstructing the many generations of things we've lost, it's not just gonna happen overnight. And some of it…" He sighed, looking out across the Battlefields longingly. "Some of it can't be restored. The lives of those we cared about...Fourside City…they're gone forever. And those who've suffered, which is basically everyone, are expected to just go on without them? I mean, sure, the city can be rebuilt, but it'll never reach the splendor it once had. It'll never be like it used to be, which is what the Smash Brothers were fighting for."

"Plus," Ho Ho added thoughtfully, "Gadd doesn't think Nightmare is completely destroyed. He thinks what was left of him was sucked into some…outer-dimensional space. A Subspace. And there's apparently supposed to be no way to get back, but…" He gestured with his telescope toward the field of casualties. "…we've been wrong before…."

"Fair enough," Beltino admitted, looking a bit downcast himself. "Yet, maybe a new beginning is just what the Nintendo World needs. Maybe, this Hand of Fate meant for us to start over, and that result is better in the long run than what the Smash Brothers were initially hoping for."

"Exactly," another newcomer agreed in a gritty voice.

Ho Ho's eyes nearly popped out of his head, both eyebrows raised now. "Sh…Shadow? I…thought you were—"

"—Dead?" the hedgehog finished, amused. "I should be." He tightened his fists and looked down, closing his eyes as if he were in pain. "There were…so many others who deserved it more than me…." But then, he snapped out of his mournful state and looked back up at them with a grim smile. "In any case, the frog here has just the right perspective. This is not the end, but the beginning. Despite the Nintendo World losing a third of its population, life will go on, and we will be ever the wiser from what we and those around us have experienced. And we have beheld, my friends, that no matter what the task, no matter who is opposing us, the people of Nintendo can overcome it. Together. Even if the enemy seems to be…immortal. This, the Original 25 have shown us. And the destiny whispered through the stars will never let our efforts go to waste, as long as we have the right spirit about it.

"So come!" Shadow gestured to the Toad, to Old Man Ho Ho, to Beltino. "There is work to be done."

Obliging, they went off to join everyone else in dealing with the results of the war.

So the restoration of the Nintendo World began.

* * *

"My hero…again." Princess Peach giggled as she kissed the red plumber tenderly on the cheek. The hero wobbled, dazed by the gesture.

After what seemed to be the end of the world, Mario had woken up to find Nightmare gone, and everyone who had been turned into a trophy reanimated. It was still a heart-shattering scene of dead volunteers, but he soon found most of the people he knew to have survived the indescribable ordeal.

Except Vivian, of course.

Her remains had been lost in the wreckage of the fortress—either that, or her sisters had already taken it away. Mario wasn't sure. But while it struck him as a truly tragic thing for one of his old partners and friends to fall victim to this war, there was a faint inkling within his heart that told him it might have been for the best. His relationship with Vivian had been different from any of his other partners because it was shady—unclear. It had only just occurred to him as he had waved to her fading figure at the edge of Rogueport's dock that she had nourished a deeper love for him, but was too shy and afraid of messing with him and Peach to express it. He knew somehow that if she were still alive, the two of them wouldn't be able to maintain a simple friendship. Yet he was committed to Peach; she was the one for him.

But Mario would never forget the one who had sacrificed her life for him, the single greatest expression of love a friend had ever offered him. A true friend.

He and the princess, one arm around each other, bowed their heads before the rubble.

* * *

Luigi was so very afraid to reject all the people who would come to him, begging for him to use the miraculous Life Shroom on one of their loved ones. But he knew this was a one-time thing, and there was one person he could trust to give an unbiased opinion on who deserved the Life Shroom the most.

"Hm. Well, it's entirely your decision, lad," Professor E. Gadd said as they watched the beginning stages of the cleanup after Nightmare's massacre. "But, well, if it were up to me, I'd try to think of someone who, if they hadn't fought to their last breath for us, would've made our victory impossible. Someone who had a long life ahead of them, but were robbed of it. Can you think of someone like that?" Then he walked on with an enigmatic smile, not waiting for a response.

Luigi had mulled over it for a full day. They were still inspecting bodies, so the names of the deceased hadn't yet been released. So he had to think back.

There was Impa, whose contributions were most definitely invaluable to the war effort. Luigi himself would probably be dead if the Sheikah warrior hadn't rallied the Smash Brothers together during the Battle of Fourside City. He had gone to Zelda for her opinion.

"You have the heart of a hero, Luigi," Zelda said as she supervised a procession of fallen Hylian soldiers. They and the rest of the dead were being carried to a mass grave, which was to be burned in a solemn ceremony to honor their sacrifices. The Battlefields were not conducive to grave-digging, and there were so many dead that it would have been beyond impractical to try and give them all separate resting places. "I thank you for your thoughtfulness. Impa was my trusted advisor, my loyal guardian, and my closest friend. But…" She almost seemed to falter as she continued. "She would not want the Life Shroom to be used on her. She deserves it, Luigi, but you must find another. A warrior's death, the first to take a stab at Crazy Hand, is something Impa would not want to be deprived of."

That was one option to cancel out.

Then there was Vivian. If she hadn't blocked Fawful from killing Mario, surely many would be dead today who were still alive. But as soon as he brought this up, his brother turned down the offer for reasons he didn't fully understand. Nor did he really want to understand.

But there _had_ been someone…someone who Luigi hadn't gotten to know particularly well himself, but whose support had been key in preparing to face Master Hand's armies on the Battlefields. Someone who had given his life to allow him and Mario to reach the top of the Fortress. Someone who had ultimately switched sides because he'd realized, a bit late, what truly mattered to him.

And so, Luigi made the decision to give it to Shadow. The hedgehog had spluttered back to life like an old machine unclogging rusty cogs and stirring into functionality.

"Shadow, you're back!" Sonic wrapped his confused friend in a strong embrace.

"Heh…so much for personal space." Despite his extremely disoriented state, Shadow's dark sense of humor hadn't changed one bit.

Luigi looked back and smiled as Shadow was reunited with Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles, all of whom had already begun discussing how they were going to find a way back to their home in the Sony World. The burden of the Life Shroom's power had been lifted from the plumber's chest.

But there was one more thing weighing uncomfortably on his mind.

He found Princess Daisy brushing herself off on the giant table, where she and many of the other trophies had been revitalized (despite Zelda's efforts to transport her to safety, she'd been caught in Master's decimating shock wave, and the Cloaked Nightmare's twister had swept her trophy back into the Room). This was not something he was good at, nor did he look forward to the difficult words he would have to say. Clearing his throat, he stepped closer to the bouncy brunette sporting a yellow dress until she turned to see him.

A dazzling smile. "Luigi! You're okay!" She rushed toward the green plumber to plant a kiss similar to the one Peach had bestowed upon Mario.

But she was stopped by a raised white glove. Luigi's eyes were soft, but pained as he let the truth out. "Wait, a-Daisy. There's a-something I have to tell you."

The smile decreased slightly. "Yeah? What is it, Luigi?"

"I…feel…that…" Holy meatballs, this was hard. "I mean…I don't a-think we make a good a-match, Daisy. You're beautiful, but…not the one for a-me." He waited for the yell, the slap, and the huffing desertion.

It therefore shocked him when Daisy seemed to smile again; differently, but she was much more relaxed than he'd ever seen her. She wiped a tomboyish hand across her forehead. "Whew! Thank goodness! And here I was thinking that the stupid royalty pairing stuff would force me to be with you forever! No offense, Luigi, but…well, you're a dork." The princess grinned appreciatively, but looked rather repulsed as she skipped away.

Luigi nodded, acknowledging his own clumsiness and social ineptness. Relief flooded through him.

The oft-overlooked brother wandered away for another few hours, looking to see who else had survived. At one point, while walking through the Battlefields, a boy in a red-and-white cap ran up to him, grinning.

"Hey…Luigi, right?" Luigi nodded. "I'm Red. I couldn't help noticing your little self-induced romantic downfall there." He grinned. "You know, I have a pretty cool sister; she's been looking for a sensitive, honest guy for a while, but, well, most of her friends are kind of full of themselves. I think you two would get along really well. Maybe you could come with me back to Pallet Town. What do you say?"

Luigi gaped, not knowing what to say. Finally:

"Uh…sure. Why a-not?"

* * *

In the days that followed the Smash Brothers' final success, there was, perhaps, more sadness than joy, more grieving than celebrating. For such a huge, devastating percentage of the population had perished in the endeavor: one third of the entire population, and nearly sixty percent of the males. It was such a crippling blow to the world that even though they were safe from tyranny, too much had been lost for many people to feel at peace.

Those who had been turned into trophies by Master's rampage were only a small fraction compared to the total army. Only those few who Nightmare had considered noteworthy had survived. But for those who were reunited with their loved ones, they could feel nothing but joy for the victory they had won. Still, even with the bittersweet mixture of grief and gladness, practical matters needed attending to; reconstruction had to begin; and whatever enemies remained had to be dealt with.

And there _were_ enemies left. Wario and Waluigi did not get to enjoy their reanimation for more than ten minutes before being taken into custody, and every gold coin they had earned in their betrayal was taken away, essentially the equivalent of ripping their hearts out. King Dedede, while not exactly an enemy, was sentenced to some jail time for his traitorous cowardice in abandoning his fellow Smash Brothers during the war.

But some had not been so easily apprehended. Though Evice's escape had been prevented by Ho-oh's timely intervention, Giovanni had vanished from the Battlefields. All of the Aparoids and most of the Starmen and Boos had been destroyed, but King Boo and a few of the head Starman Deluxes were unaccounted for. Still at large were the last two of the metal clones: Metal Mario and Metal Mr. Game & Watch, and they would have to be found sometime in the future when the Nintendonians had a better handle on things. And while Bowser and King K. Rool cooperated in the peaceful cleanup efforts, Ganondorf was another matter entirely.

Zelda had actually begun to consider letting the Gerudo King roam free because of the help he'd rendered the Nintendo World, but when he began slaughtering survivors in search of the Links, she knew what she had to do.

She and Link learned from scouts about Ganondorf's current path and traveled by Farore's Wind to come up from behind. While Ganondorf was in the process of choking the life out of an innocent Beanish soldier, the princess struck him in the back with a debilitating Light Arrow. As the man released the soldier and fell to his knees, growling in pain, Link came around and shoved his bent Master Sword into Ganondorf's forehead as far as it would go.

With the combined power of the Triforce supplemented by the Seven Sages of Hyrule, they sealed the restless spirit of their eternal foe in the Sacred Realm, and that was that.

A week after the final encounter with Nightmare, Professor E. Gadd, retaining his position as leader of the Smash Brothers—which had now become a sort of temporary interregional government—stood before many people to explain the truth of all the events that had transpired since the first appearance of the metal Smashers. He then announced their plans for the future. This included the reconstruction of Fourside City; the permanent closing off of the Battlefields and what was left of Master Hand's Room; and, finally, when they were ready, an attempt to restore relations with the Sony and Microsoft Worlds. Professor Frankly, the Kongs, and the former residents of the Isle o' Hags had had a long meeting with the Smash Brother leaders detailing all they knew about these forgotten other worlds and the Copyright Wars. It was still a mystery why so few remembered these things (Frankly only knew from his library collection), but for now, they would have to work with whatever understanding they had. Like Shadow had said, they had a lot of work ahead of them.

In another meeting, Pac-man and Bomberman described to everyone how they had defeated Metal Peach with a strategy involving bombs and distasteful metallic consumption. The Ice Climbers also relayed in vivid detail how they had triumphed over the manipulated Black Knight (who was actually there listening) through the use of the Pencil. Once both Smashers had become as thin as paper, they'd sliced into the gaps between the armor and removed each piece. Considering the warrior's evident unwillingness to aid Master Hand, they'd opted to leave him knocked out on the third floor of the fortress.

Ness explained how Metal Samus had killed Shadow and nearly him as well until Sonic's friends Amy, Tails, and Knuckles arrived. Knuckles had prevented Ness's immediate destruction; Tails had created a distraction hopping around the clone and whipping its head with his double tail; Amy had snuck up and stolen its Franklin Badge; and Ness had finished it off with PK Fire.

Then the time of the mass grave's funeral pyre came; it took place near the boundary between the Room and the Battlefields, where the deceased could be most easily gathered to the center.

Gadd stepped up to a podium with a solemn expression and began to read out a long, dreadful list recounting the names of all those who had perished in what would thenceforth be called the War of the Hands. Thousands of names were read, so it took over an hour for the professor to finish. And the most notable among the casualties had been arrayed on the ground between the congregation and the pyre for everyone to pay their respects.

Darunia's body had not been located, but a necklace that another Goron claimed to belong to the leader had been displayed in his place. Naturally, Biggoron had wept huge, gallon-sized tears, causing those around him to cover their heads and move away. Except for Ellie the Elephant, who eagerly sucked the liquid into her dehydrated trunk.

Several generals from among the Star Warriors, Hylians, Akaneians, and other organized Nintendonian armies had also been killed and laid out among the great.

Cranky Kong, still in karate uniform, was among the dead; however, soon after, an apparition of both him and his wife Wrinkly appeared as ghosts to the Kongs, and the old monkey assured them that his last battle had been his greatest—and, admittedly, his toughest.

The two-person Team Star Wolf dedicated a small shrine to Panther Caruso, who had been like a brother to them. Wolf was planning on disbanding the squadron, for he did not intend to lose his last teammate, Leon, in such a painful way as they had lost Panther.

Others, such as Meta Knight, Peach, Zelda, and Lance the Dragon Master, took their turn at the podium, honoring the dead and promoting hope for a bright future. At the end, the remaining bodies were heaped onto the pyre and the congregation dispersed to continue their work.

* * *

Most of the Smash Brothers eventually departed for their own lands with their own kingdoms to rebuild—with a few notable exceptions. General Guy, Bowser's Shy Guy officer who had followed Mario and the others out of the Dimension Conflux, opted to remain in the modern Nintendo World with the few surviving followers he had left. Bottles, Jam-jars, Banjo & Kazooie, Mumbo Jumbo, and Humba Wumba also remained with the Jinjos who had not been lost—only one of each color. Sonic, Shadow, Amy, Tails, and Knuckles planned to remain in the Nintendo World until a game plan was made to contact the Sony World (which, it must be said, was still in early development). Whether any given Smash Brother left the central region of Fourside or not, all were given the means to communicate with Professor E. Gadd and the other leaders who remained to represent their regions.

Thus, the following events did not occur on any one particular day or in any specific order. They simply mention a piece of how each of the heroes went off on their own way—some in groups, some alone, some to places where others could not follow.

* * *

After all that can be said, Kirby, of course, was the most celebrated hero of the war. Without Kirby, all would have been lost. Nightmare would be their new emperor. So it followed that any who had ever overlooked him as weak or cowardly due to his size and appearance had a change of heart. Even King Dedede approached the pink puffball to mutter a half-hearted apology for attempting to flee from the war before being escorted back to prison in Fourside. Kirby showed his pure-hearted forgiveness by inhaling the penguin's hammer and spitting it back out at his head in his playful, childlike manner.

In his own mind, Kirby would never forget his last confrontation with Nightmare, and how it really wasn't quite his doing that had saved them. He might never know who or what had sent that Warp Star, but for the time being, he could live without that knowledge. Some mysteries were perhaps never meant to be revealed. And he also kept in mind that although Nightmare's essence had, as Gadd said, been torn apart and sent to a place where he could never return, there really wouldn't ever be any definitive end to evil. And to great beings of evil, such as Nightmare, a thousand years was as the blink of an eye; they would be ever patient, ever seeking an opportunity for revenge.

With all of this to ponder, Kirby returned to Dreamland, refusing to accept any sort of reward for his deeds except anything edible, all of which he inhaled as quickly as he received. Not much else was heard of him for some time, save for a faint rumor that he often traveled to the Kanto Region to see Jigglypuff sing in concert—for reasons unknown.

* * *

Dr. Mario shook off many persistent civilian admirers as he turned to leave through the door to the Dimension Conflux with the two Babies. He was glad things had turned out all right, but it was time to get back to his true duty as Overseer. It had been a great adventure participating in the Smash Tournaments and lending a hand in the Smash Brothers' final struggle, but he and the energetic protégés really needed to be getting back to where they belonged. If another strange incident in the forgotten worlds of old—such as Nightmare's sudden disappearance—occurred again, he would be the first to know, and the one to report.

But he had convinced Gadd to give him the Dimension Key for keeps this time; it was too dangerous for anyone else to wander into such a place again. Ever.

"Thanks for all you've a-done," Mario said as he and Luigi embraced the doctor followed by Gadd, Peach, Yoshi, Popo, Nana, and Game & Watch. "See you next time!" He referred to the possibility of additional Smash Tournaments which, despite the negative connections they had with Master Hand, were seen by many of the Smash Brothers as a good opportunity to maintain strong bonds between Nintendo regions, and were under consideration for future use.

Dr. Mario just smiled and nodded, the Babies parting with their older selves with difficulty and immediately throwing temper tantrums.

The genetic duplicate of Mario disappeared into the whiteness of the Dimension Door inside the Grande Snifit Hotel, holding the Babies in his arms, and left the people of the modern Nintendo World—perhaps for the very last time.

* * *

Luigi fell flat on his face after tripping on a Caterpie.

"Whaaaa!" he cried as the irritated bug Pokémon rewarded him with a String Shot to the face, bringing the small party to a halt as it travelled through the Veridian Forest toward Pallet Town.

The girl standing nearby tried to muffle her laughter, but it burst out suddenly as she went into uncontrollable hysterics. She held her stomach from the joyful convulsions and helped Luigi up, brushing the stringy silk from his face.

"Sorry, Luigi," April said, although her lingering giggles suggested otherwise. "But you're just…hilarious! You should come hang out with me and my friends in Saffron tomorrow…."

Luigi blushed, but he looked pleased that for once, his clumsiness wasn't seen as a weakness.

Red, leaning against a tree while watching his sister April "interact" with Luigi, snickered softly and muttered to himself. "I knew it."

* * *

After bidding farewell to his masters and seeing the Babies safely off, Yoshi returned triumphantly to his own people on Yoshi's Island with news of restored peace and freedom, although many other Yoshis had died, making his tidings bittersweet. Now, among the one hundred remaining Yoshis, he was among the thirty surviving males. A rather scary thought. Already a hero among the herd, the green dinosaur did not relish too much in the tribal celebrations which followed, rather wanting to spend time alone in restful bliss. At last, a new era of prosperity had come upon his blessed land. With that comforting thought, he closed his weary eyes and drifted into a calm sleep.

* * *

The Kong family returned to their treehouse, but they knew it would never be the same without Cranky hollering at them to do something or other every five minutes. Still, the ghosts of Cranky and Wrinkly visited frequently, and DK felt quite proud that he'd accomplished everything his grandmother had meant for him to do.

As the new family head, Donkey Kong led with energy and a balance between justice and mercy when it came to banana reports, although when Chunky confessed one day he'd already eaten all of the barrels Dixie and Kiddy had brought back from the Brothers Bear, DK found himself behaving in ways unsettlingly similar to the mannerisms of his grandfather. Still, he, Diddy, Tiny, Lanky, Chunky, Dixie, and Kiddy managed the family's affairs well, with Funky and Candy contributing from afar through the Krystal Koconut.

But as time went on, something began nagging at all the Kongs increasingly often—something they'd just as soon forget.

The Copyright Wars.

Haunted by freshly recalled memories of the horrors of those dark times, the Kongs—especially Diddy—realized that the time must soon come that they confront the unresolved problems of their past. Yet Diddy had a feeling that those problems would come to the Kongs before they could do anything to resolve them.

* * *

Bowser, crippled as his forces were from Master's decimation, reorganized his few remaining troops with his natural leading abilities and volunteered to see that until the Nintendo World was strong and thriving again, they would still be defended from any unlikely, but still possible, attack from foreign worlds. His troops became the Nintendo World's equivalent of a National Guard and he tried to make Pichu a high-ranking officer, but the Pokémon politely declined the offer.

* * *

Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and Pichu returned to Kanto with their trainer Red, along with April and Luigi. Red let his Pokémon come and go as they pleased while he set to work gathering all the information he could about his missing father. Pikachu and Pichu tended to stick nearby, but Jigglypuff became a singing sensation throughout the Nintendo World—even though by the end of her concerts, almost everyone was asleep with silly pen markings on their faces.

* * *

Mewtwo vanished soon after the war's aftermath was cleared up, presumably to his subterranean home beneath the lake in the Unclaimed Territory. He, like Kirby, would never forget what had transpired.

* * *

Ness used a portal to go back to Onett with Paula, Jeff, and Poo. He continued to train himself in the mental skills Mewtwo had taught him, never knowing when they might again be needed.

* * *

The Ice Climbers, after making sure Reeka's old laboratory on Mountain #32 was torn down, returned to their abode in Freezy Cavern. They began a search for the remains of the Topi Bear the evil scientist had created.

* * *

"Leaving so soon?"

Captain Falcon froze with one foot on the boarding platform of the Great Fox, which the Cornerians had graciously offered to ferry him back to Mute City where he could go about finding a new ride—both for the track and for space travel. Both the Blue Falcon and the Falcon Flyer had been casualties of the war, and the racer felt somehow naked without something shiny to fly faster than everyone else.

He turned to find a surprise: Samus Aran, decked out in her suit except with her helmet under her arm. This time, she seemed to be regarding him not so much as someone who'd emitted an extremely antisocial noise, but as someone who had been so careless as to try and board a train without his boarding pass.

Falcon's body grew rigid. He was determined this time not to look the fool in front of the fellow bounty hunter.

"What's it to ya?"

Samus stepped toward him until they were only a few feet apart in the hangar. "I never had the chance to thank you…back when we were beneath the colosseum…you stood up for me, tried to protect me from the Trophy Transformer."

"Yeah, well…look where that got us." Falcon's heart did a triumphant flip. He was winning this one. Time to milk it. He turned back and made to board the Great Fox without further discussion.

"Wait."

Falcon was shocked to find that Samus had grabbed his wrist—or at least, her suit had.

Next thing he knew, she was hugging him. Falcon's brain suffered a traffic jam; he wasn't aware the cold Smasher was capable of expressing emotion.

"Thank you," she said.

Falcon's dumbfounded expression turned into a warm smile as he returned the hug. "We made a pretty good team out there, didn't we? Master Hand never stood a chance."

"Yeah, well…" Suddenly the moment was past. Samus stepped back, waiting for him to disappear inside the ship. "Next time, don't count on a Reset Button to bail you out after your first punch misses."

Captain Falcon opened his mouth, expecting a clever retort to come out, but nothing did. After a long, awkward moment, he turned and climbed inside without another word.

* * *

Mr. Game & Watch returned to Mushroom Kingdom II with the companionship of Prince Peasley. After all they'd been through—from their initial animosity to taking on Metal Marth in Akaneia to fighting side by side in the Battlefields—they had become close friends.

"Farewell, comrade!" Peasley said as they parted ways at the eastern edge of Kanto, him for Beanbean Castle, Game & Watch for the Mushroom Kingdom. "It has been a true honor to fight by your side. I am sure we shall meet again!"

"I'm count-ing on it," G.W. said, his face in a frame that could perhaps be construed as a smile. "Un-til then, try not to get ea-ten by dra-gons."

* * *

Professor E. Gadd continued to lead wisely in facilitating the world's recovery, and he often relied on the Original 25 to accomplish the most important tasks and to help make the most important decisions.

When Mario and Game & Watch sought advice on how to hunt down their murderous clones, Gadd suggested they first consider what they already knew. Mario related how during their battle on the roof of the fortress, Metal Mario had suddenly disregarded its loyalty to Master Hand, shoved everyone else off the tower, and disappeared. Also, like all of the metal clones, the two surviving ones tended to have a strange fixation on their original selves.

Gadd considered the Smashers' accounts with a hand on his chin. "Interesting. I'm afraid, lads, that unless you get extremely lucky—or, I suppose, unlucky, depending on how you look at it—all you can do in the meantime is prepare for the day you'll meet again. Even after studying the remains of several of these thingymajiggers, I'm still no closer to figurin' out how they work…let alone why two of 'em are still living even with Master Hand gone." He grinned. "But make no mistake, young'uns. You'll see them again someday—as sure as my balding head."

* * *

Fox and Falco sped away to the Lylat System with the rest of Team Star Fox, wondering if and when the day would come when the heroes from Nintendo's farther reaches would need to gather once more.

* * *

Marth and Roy returned to Akaneia, where they helped Princess Nyna and Gotoh restore its capital to its former glory. There even began to be talks of sparring competitions with the neighboring kingdom of Hyrule—something that had a greater effect upon the soldiers' training efforts than any motivational speech ever could. With Gharnef and Medeus gone and the Earth Dragons sealed in the Fire Emblem once more, all was well.

* * *

The _real_ Biggoron master craftsman graciously agreed to repair the bent Master Sword, but insisted that before he could do so, he still needed his special eye drops.

* * *

The orange glow of dusk stretched across the skies of Hyrule, the saturated light reflecting off the rolling plains. Grass swayed gently in the breeze along with daisies and other wild flowers. Hyrule Castle rose in the distance to the north—Death Mountain to the south, the ocean to the east, and Kokiri Forest to the west. A slight red haze indicating the Gerudo Desert shimmered in the light to the northwest. The Zora River gurgled almost magically, shining prismatically in areas and blurring the rocks beneath the water.

Link stood beside Zelda near the river, the two of them looking out upon their beautiful land. Young Link shuffled impatiently on Link's left, but to an extent, he, too, could appreciate the glorious place they had to live in.

"We've done it, Link," the princess said. "We've restored peace not just to the land of Hyrule, but to all the lands around us. Darkness has been placed long at bay, and surely for at least the rest of our lifetimes, this is something we will have to enjoy."

The grown Hero of Time nodded, turning to face Zelda. "Yes. But I'm sure Ganondorf's not at all happy after we sealed him back in the Sacred Realm." Young Link giggled at that with a smirk.

"He was already back to killing innocent people," Zelda defended. "It had to be done, despite his brief spurt of heroism."

Link laughed. "I know." Then, slowly, hesitantly, he brought an arm around the princess's shoulders, pulling her closer to him.

"You know we can never be that way, Link," Zelda said, rigid in his embrace.

Now, Link's expression had gone serious. His eyes glistened sincerely and inquisitively. "But…why not?" He loosened his arm, prepared to remove it in reluctant acceptance.

"Because I'm a princess, and you're Hyrule's hero, and we have a duty to…" Zelda hesitated for a long, strange moment. "Hm. You know, I'm not exactly sure why; I've just always assumed…" Then, the absurdity of her assumption dawning upon her, she moved her face fluidly toward Link's.

"Ugh!" Young Link backed away from the two, shielding his eyes dramatically. But then, he couldn't help separating two of his fingers to peek, and then removing his hand altogether, staring with interest at the two interlocked figures. He grinned, eying Zelda over and over again. "Wow. I can't _wait_ to grow up!"

At those words, Link temporarily broke away, turning his head to grin back at Young Link. "Yeah, I'm sure you'll be so excited in seven years…when you'll have to go through _everything_ all over again!"

Young Link's grin vanished into terror as he realized what his older self's words implied. "Crap!" He turned and dashed away toward the castle on his swift ten-year-old legs.

"Really, Link?" Zelda asked as they gazed into each other's eyes. "He'll have to live through Master Hand's invasion twice?"

Link grinned. "No, of course not. I don't know why he's here and not in his own time, but our lives are placed upon two separate paths, in two separate Hyrules. I just thought he deserved it after breaking my sword."

 _The End_

* * *

Epilogue

* * *

 **O** ne full year after the Smashers' triumph over their greatest enemy—to the day—the Original 25 were called back together, to the southwestern coast of the Unclaimed Territory. Something, apparently, had been spotted in the distance across the sea, and on a sparsely clouded day with a light blue sky, twenty-four heroes gathered at the very edge of the beach to see what it was. They found themselves alone, for Professor E. Gadd had for some reason decided that they alone were meant to meet the approaching speck on the horizon.

And so they gathered, not a single noise besides the gentle crashing of the waves. Almost self-consciously, they grouped alongside one another in a peculiar fashion, awaiting whatever the future held for them on that speck.

And, soon enough, the speck became clearer, and each of the Smashers reacted in their own way in response to the sight before them.

To the far left of the group, Princess Peach raised a hand slightly over the front of her dress, unsure of what this outlook meant.

Above her, Mr. Game & Watch leapt into the air, ringing his bell wildly.

To Peach's right, Link stood erect, hands loose fists at his sides, his eyes fixed warily upon the object.

Between the princess and Link, Pikachu smiled ecstatically. His ears were laid back, his jagged tail standing up straight, his legs bent in a playful stance.

Beside the Pokémon on the right, Kirby looked just as excited, just as adventurous, his soft eyes innocently gazing forward.

Behind and to the right of Kirby, Young Link had a hand on his hip, feet positioned firmly. He stared at the growing speck after drinking a few mouthfuls of Lon Lon Milk.

Standing behind the Kokiri boy, Samus faced the ocean, just as mystified. She was turned slightly sideways with her arm cannon in front, her expression indecipherable behind her green visor.

Hovering higher behind the bounty hunter was Mewtwo, also turned sideways. His arms were folded, and his tail was raised in a wary curve. The legendary Pokémon's purple eyes were fixed intently on the scene, a million or more thoughts buzzing in his capacious mind.

Reclining beside Kirby in a childlike fashion, Ness placed his elbow on the sand and tilted his head against his hand, his eyes full of wonder.

Mario adjusted his red cap behind the PSI-potent boy, looking prepared for another adventure.

Standing two feet taller behind Mario was Princess Zelda, turned to the side and gripping one arm with her other hand, viewing the fateful thing with caution.

Bowser towered behind her and to her right, his teeth bared in a strange smile and fiery orange eyes burning intensely into the shape across the sea.

Pichu stood on Bowser's head like he often used to position himself, surveying the scene as if he were a watchman on a tower, possibly more excited than anyone else.

Captain Falcon posed not far in front of the beast, seemingly oblivious to the giant Koopa inches behind him. One arm was curled before him in a challenging gesture.

The Ice Climbers took to the front before the F-Zero pilot, Nana leaning toward her brother, both with joyful sparkles in their eyes and smiles on their faces.

Fox McCloud leaned forward beside the siblings, his gaze fixed on the object with alert anticipation.

Close to Fox was Yoshi, leaning even farther forward, amazement written on his kind face.

Marth and Roy stood side by side at the end of the group, both with swords raised in a gesture that seemed to resemble both respect and a warning. The sun glinted off the blades, the heroes' capes waving slowly behind them.

Jigglypuff puffed up above the swordsmen's heads to see, her big eyes shimmering with awe.

To the puffball's left, Donkey Kong pounded his chest, generating almost the only noise besides the waves with his mighty bellow.

Falco leapt off the ape's right shoulder, aligning his figure with the sun's glare, but seeming unaffected by it. His knee was raised, one blue wing raised across his body, and his head tilted up. It looked like a sort of noble salute.

Finally, whizzing across the peaceful sky above them all, Luigi launched himself headfirst through the air with his Green Missile, his eyes closed without worry, leaving a trail of white smoke in his wake, somehow signifying the importance of this event.

And as the green blur passed by, something remarkable, something that cannot be explained, happened among the Smashers at that moment. Two more figures appeared—whether they were mirages, imagined apparitions, or something else.

Startlingly close to Zelda, the dark king Ganondorf faded into view, his eyes fixed appraisingly on the sight in front of them, one arm crossed over his chest in a powerful symbol of acknowledgement.

Behind Kirby, Dr. Mario materialized with a hand on his chin, inspecting the sight with curiosity.

But as the Original 25, somehow complete as Fate meant for them to be, watched the speck grow into a recognizable shape bobbing up and down in the waves, a sort of glory overtook them all—as if this were a moment so special that they would never forget it no matter what happened in the future.

It was a raft, made of simple wooden planks and a straight wooden post for the sail. There were distant silhouettes on the raft as well, but they were too indistinct to identify. And the billowing white sail had a symbol emblazed upon it, shining brightly against the square canvas.

A circle, with an off-centered cross cutting through it. Shining with every color of the rainbow, just like the Smash Ball had. The raft bobbed gently yet purposefully toward the coast of the Nintendo World, as if guided by some unseen hand.

* * *

 _(Scene fades on the gathered Smashers, which looks just like the image used for this story's thumbnail. You can find it in full by Googling "Super Smash Bros Melee Soundtrack" or "Super Smash Bros Melee Poster.")_

 **Author's Note:**

Thanks for reading this story! It's been a long time coming—something that underwent drafting, hiatus, finishing, another hiatus, revising, a _really_ long hiatus, and heavy rewriting and revising over the course of about 10 years. (in case you're curious, the completely rewritten parts range from Chapter 1 to Chapter 13, though many other changes were made throughout) It's far from perfect, but it's certainly come a long way (from the scribblings of a 6th grader, that is), and I can honestly say I'm happy enough to leave it to rest.

For those who slogged with me the entire way (or even those who just decided to glance at the first chapter and then read the end—yes, I'm looking at you), I would very much appreciate reviews both of the positive and the constructively critical sorts. Even though I'm not going to touch _The Trophies_ again, it would greatly benefit me in future writing.

Speaking of which...after all those hiatuses (hiati?), I'm happy to announce that _The Trophies_ will indeed be seeing a sequel, which I told myself for years would only exist in my head, but with time I've come to accept that there is another tale that needs to be told about This World. The pieces have floated listlessly around my mind for so long and gradually begun to connect so that three months ago, I finally put pen to paper (metaphorically) and the story resumed where it left off.

This sequel of mine, called _The Forgotten Rights of Passage,_ is already about 2/3rds complete thanks to my very writing-conducive summer job. In a word, it expands the scope of the Nintendo World into something much bigger, much older, and much more controversial than Master Hand's whimsical wars with the Smash Brothers ever were. It delves deeper into mysteries ranging from the identity of Red's father to the ill-recalled repercussions of the "Copyright Wars" to the very significance of the Super Smash Bros. symbol itself. It is progressing even better than I could have hoped, and for any who enjoyed _The Trophies_ , it is not to be missed.

I will give readers a bit of a breather with this concluding chapter, but come **Friday, September 2nd, 2016,** the first chapter of _The Forgotten Rights of Passage_ will be posted, to be continued on a weekly basis until the estimated 20 chapters are complete (less than _The Trophies_ 's 26 chapters, I know, but they are meaty chapters).

Until then...may your princesses, your kingdoms, your powers, or whatever your personal Trophies may be, keep you satisfied. If they don't, maybe they need to be reevaluated—or perhaps there's simply an empty trophy stand on your shelf waiting to be filled by that solitary raft that even now approaches the Original 25, the Nintendo World, the digital pages of the Internet, and consequently, the rods and cones of your eyeballs.

Adieu,

~Bob Snicket

* * *

In a world far, far away, a hand reached up out of a puddle of unusually fluid mud and pulled its host up and out. The short figure stood up, not only covered and dripping with the multicolored goop, but appearing almost as if it were made of it. The figure adjusted a pair of diamond-framed glasses and looked away into the dark, star-lit sky.

 _"Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh…."_


End file.
